Hans Island is a tiny,barren spot between Greenland and Canada's far north-east, lying about 1,100km from the North Pole. Like others in the frigid region, the island, a desolate patch measuring just 1.6 sq km, has "no strategic or practical value", in the estimation of David Rudd, president of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies.

Yet the island in recent weeks has become a flashpoint that highlights Canada's sovereignty problems in the Arctic. Canada and Denmark both claim Hans Island, an unlikely disputed claim left unresolved since a 1973 treaty. Both countries occasionally seek to buttress their position by landing there. This summer, it was Bill Graham, Canada's defence minister. Denmark complained and dispatched an icebreaker to reinforce its own claim. The two governments agreed to meet in September to discuss the island's status.