Canada and Denmark finally ended their decades-long “war” on Tuesday, fighting with flags, whiskey and liquor on a deserted and uninhabited island in the Arctic. The two countries formally signed an agreement to share Hans Island off northwest Greenland at a ceremony in Ottawa attended by Canada’s foreign minister and his Danish counterpart.

In a benign stalemate for 49 years, the conflict will therefore result in the kidney-shaped island being split in two and the Ottawa-Copenhagen Accord being upheld as a model for resolving territorial disputes around the world. “The Arctic serves as a beacon of international cooperation where the rule of law prevails,” Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly told AFP.

“As global security is threatened, it has never been more important for democracies like Canada and Denmark to work alongside indigenous peoples to resolve our differences in accordance with international law,” she added.

“Whiskey Wars”

In a press conference with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod, she stressed that the conflict – “which many have dubbed the ‘whisky war'” – was “the friendliest of all wars”. For his part, Jeppe Kofod explained that the resolution of the conflict came at a time when “the international legal order is under pressure” and democratic values ​​are “under attack”, citing the war in Ukraine.

“In contrast, we have shown how long-standing disputes can be resolved peacefully by sticking to the rules,” he said, adding that he hoped to “inspire other countries to follow the same path.” With an area of ​​1.3 km2, Hans Island is located between Ellesmere Island in northern Canada and Greenland on Danish territory. The dispute dates back to 1973, when a maritime border was drawn between the two countries.

An uninhabitable island

Danes and Canadians have taken turns helicoptering to the island to claim the territory, prompting diplomatic protests, online campaigning and even calls for Canada to boycott Danish pastries. On these visits, each side hoisted a flag and left a bottle of whiskey or liquor for the other side. Exchanging bottles on Tuesday, Mélanie Joly and Jeppe Kofod laughed at the idea of ​​Canada joining the European Union now that the two entities share a land border — well, almost,

The snow-capped island of Hans is uninhabitable, but the effects of climate change are bringing increasing shipping traffic to the Arctic, opening it up to greater exploitation of its resources, particularly fishing. However, according to Arctic expert Michael Byers, the island is “so extraordinarily remote that it is not viable to consider serious activity there.”

A “risk-free” conflict

Delaying any resolution of this unusual conflict indefinitely has long presented a good opportunity for political backlash for all parties, especially ahead of elections. “It was a completely risk-free sovereignty dispute between two NATO allies over a tiny, insignificant island,” Byers told AFP.

Denmark also feared that defeat in that battle for Hans Island would undermine its relationship with Greenland, while Canada feared that defeat would weaken its negotiating positions with the United States in a dispute this time around. supposedly rich in hydrocarbons.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “has failed to make Arctic sovereignty part of his political identity,” according to Michael Byers, which has helped “lower the temperature,” at least on the Canadian side. “But more importantly, Russia has invaded Ukraine and that created the opportune moment to tell the world that the countries responsible are peacefully settling their territorial disputes,” he added.