HANS island is a small unhabited, barren rock I the Artic ocean with no natural resources such as oil

or natural gas. Still, there is an ongoing territorial dispute between Denmark and Canada over who
owns this little rock.

Unlike many other territory conflicts, this one is fought in a markedly peaceful way. The potential
serious diplomatic implications aside, the Canadians and Danes take turns placing their flags on the
island. This curious practice that has been going on since the 1980s. But it gets even odder.

The island was first disputed in 1933, but largely forgotten during World War II. The unusual dispute
began again in earnest in 1984 when, during a visit to the island, the Danish Minister for Greenland
planted the national flag and left a message.

Ever since then, when the flag on the island is periodically changed between the Danish and
Canadian flag, the bottle is also replaced. The Canadians leave a bottle of Canadian Club and the
Danes a bottle of schnapps.

The conflict is as of today still unresolved, but there are suggestions on how to move forward. Arctic
experts from Canada and Denmark propose making Hans Island into a condominium, a solution that
has proven to resolve other conflicts in the past. But in a region of growing importance, as natural
resources are becoming available and new shipping routes are opening up, it is unclear if both
countries can settle for such a solution.

Canada’s claim is based on the transfer of North America’s High Arctic islands from Britain in 1880.
The claim also relies on the international legal requirement that title to territory be maintained by
regular activity, which Canada has done, to some degree. For example, Hans Island was briefly home
to a Canadian scientific base during the Second World War. Later, in 1953, Eric Fry of the
Topographical Survey of Canada surveyed Hans Island and built a cairn, in which he left a note
claiming the island for Canada.

In Canada, the dispute only began attracting public attention in 2002, after an article entitled “The
Return of the Vikings” was published in the Globe and Mail. The previous summer, the Danish frigate
Vædderen had landed sailors on Hans Island. The island was devoid of other visitors at the time, and
the Canadian government responded with the standard diplomatic protest. But in the article, the
Danes were described as “invading hordes” — a curious choice of words for close NATO allies.