Iqaluit (June 30/03) - It's not the attack of the breakfast pastry, and it's not quite like Denmark declared war on Canada.

But it remains that Denmark is claiming some Canadian land as their own.

Canada's Northern dispute isn't just against the Americans, there's also a disagreement with the Danes.

While Canada fights to keep the Northwest Passage, Denmark is trying to rewrite the territorial borders between Canada and Greenland.

The Danes say Hans Island, a small uninhabited island in the Kennedy Channel between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, clearly belongs to them.

Canada says no way.

Another dispute lies around three kilometres of water between Greenland and Canada.

The possibility of oil and gas in that area is at the forefront of this challenge, and the Danes are ready to fight this one out.

"If an agreement can't be reached the issue could eventually end up at the International Court in The Hague," said Svend Roed Nielsen, Danish ambassador to Canada during a June 19 visit to Yellowknife.

And while the issue remains in debate, both countries have agreed to forego any explorations in that area.

"We think it is important to establish the border before any oil or gas reserves are discovered," said Nielsen, who travelled North with 18 other ambassadors on a sightseeing tour.

While both disputes seem insignificant in their size and scope, one expert thinks they may have far-reaching consequences for Canada.

"If Denmark wins its case, other states may come to regard the Canadian ability to protect its northern interests as weak," said Rob Huebert, a professor at the centre for military and strategic studies in Calgary in an article published on the Naval Officers Association of Canada's website.

Huebert was referring to the disputes with the Americans over the Beaufort Sea and the Northwest Passage.

The Danes argument is that Hans Island is closer to Greenland.

"Using the midline principle, Hans Island belongs to Denmark. Geographically speaking, the island is closer to Denmark, and historically the Inuit on Greenland have used the island for hunting and fishing more so than Canadian Inuit," said Nielsen.

That does not correspond with the Canadian position.

"Hans Island constitutes part of the national territory of Canada. No assertion by the Danish ambassador or any Danish official detracts from the absolute sovereignty Canada enjoys over the island," said Reynald Doiron, a spokesperson for the department of foreign affairs in Ottawa.

According to Doiron, the dispute between the two countries is long-standing, going back many decades. Canada claims their rights lie with the Boundary Waters Agreement, signed in 1973, in which the two countries agreed to draw the boundary line up to the point immediately south of the island and again from a point immediately north of the island.

Danish naval vessels are doing military and emergency training in the area, but all under Canadian approval.

Canada has on several occasions reminded Denmark of Canada's sovereignty over Hans Island via diplomatic notes including in those instances where Danish nationals have violated Canadian sovereignty.

"Canada examines each request by the Danish government before deciding whether to grant permission for the Danish vessel to transit Canadian waters and visit the island," said Doiron.

Canada granted such permission to the Danish naval vessel Vaedderen in the summer of 2002, but the ship sailed into the disputed waters surrounding the island, and may even have landed troops on it.

The Canadian government then issued a diplomatic protest to the Danish government and reminded them of their position on the matter.