Key Takeaways
What this is about. This article clears up a simple question: do Australia (Oceania), Denmark (Europe), and Greenland (North America) “belong” to each other, or share a border.
The short answer. Denmark (Europe) is not part of Australia (Oceania). Greenland (North America) is linked to Denmark (Europe) through the Danish Realm.
The easy way to remember it. A famous tiny-island border story involves Canada (North America) and Denmark (Europe) via Greenland (North America), not Australia (Oceania).
Story & Details
A question that sounds bigger than it is. The names Australia (Oceania), Denmark (Europe), and Greenland (North America) can feel like they must connect. Two are countries. One is a huge island with a special status. Add maps, ice, and oceans, and it is easy to mix things up.
Denmark and Greenland: a real constitutional link. Greenland (North America) is part of the Danish Realm, with its own self-government. A key moment came in June 2009, when the Self-Government Act took effect and set out how Greenland runs many local areas while some areas stay with the central authorities of the Realm. Greenland also elects representatives to Denmark’s parliament. Denmark (Europe) and Greenland (North America) are linked by law and institutions, not by distance on a globe.
Australia: far away, but still in the polar story. Australia (Oceania) does not “own” Denmark (Europe), and Denmark (Europe) does not “own” Australia (Oceania). But Australia (Oceania) does administer remote sub-Antarctic territories, including Heard Island and McDonald Islands. They are an Australian external territory and are managed through Australia’s Antarctic program. That is one reason Australia (Oceania) shows up in polar topics, even though it is not part of the Arctic world of Greenland (North America).
The tiny island that causes big confusion. There is a well-known border story about a very small island called Hans Island, also known as Tartupaluk. It involved Canada (North America) and the Kingdom of Denmark (Europe), together with Greenland (North America). In June 2022, the parties signed an agreement to resolve long-standing boundary disputes around that area. This is the “tiny island dispute” people sometimes hear about—and then connect to the wrong countries. Australia (Oceania) is not part of that particular border story.
A small Dutch mini-lesson, because the key word is “belongs.”
A natural Dutch way to ask the main question is: Hoort Denemarken bij Australië?
A simple, helpful gloss comes in two steps.
First, a full, natural meaning in plain English: Is Denmark part of Australia? It is a direct, everyday question.
Then a word-by-word guide: Hoort = belongs, Denemarken = Denmark, bij = with or to, Australië = Australia.
A close sister sentence can be used for the second link: Hoort Groenland bij Denemarken? This asks if Greenland is part of Denmark. In daily Dutch, this style is neutral and clear.
Why oceans matter here at all. Countries and territories still meet each other in law, even when they are far apart. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea sets many shared rules for oceans and seabeds. That legal frame helps explain why Greenland (North America) and Australia (Oceania) can appear in the same kind of “map talk,” without being in the same state.
Conclusions
Australia (Oceania), Denmark (Europe), and Greenland (North America) sit in the same world, but not in the same country. Denmark (Europe) and Greenland (North America) have a formal constitutional link inside the Danish Realm. Australia (Oceania) is separate, yet active in polar and ocean matters through its own remote territories and its role in international sea law. And the famous tiny island border story points to Canada (North America) and Denmark (Europe) with Greenland (North America), not to Australia (Oceania).
Selected References
[1] Prime Minister’s Office of Denmark: Greenland and the Self-Government Act — https://english.stm.dk/the-prime-ministers-office/the-unity-of-the-realm/greenland/
[2] Denmark.dk: Greenland and the Self-Government Act — https://denmark.dk/people-and-culture/greenland
[3] Australian Antarctic Program: Heard Island and McDonald Islands — https://www.antarctica.gov.au/antarctic-operations/stations-and-field-locations/heard-island/
[4] Global Affairs Canada: June 2022 agreement on Tartupaluk (Hans Island) and related boundaries — https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2022/06/canada-and-the-kingdom-of-denmark-together-with-greenland-reach-historic-agreement-on-long-standing-boundary-disputes.html
[5] International Maritime Organization: UNCLOS and IMO overview (PDF) — https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/OurWork/Environment/Documents/UNCLOSandIMO.pdf
[6] International Seabed Authority: Introductory video on ISA DeepData (YouTube) — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZPM5EHjtgI
Appendix
Australia. Australia is a sovereign country in Oceania with responsibility for several external territories, including remote sub-Antarctic islands.
Canada. Canada is a sovereign country in North America and a party to the June 2022 agreement that settled the long dispute over Hans Island with Denmark and Greenland.
Continental shelf. The continental shelf is the seabed area that can be linked to a coastal state under international sea law, and it often matters in boundary talks.
Denmark. Denmark is a sovereign country in Europe and part of a wider constitutional structure often called the Danish Realm.
Greenland. Greenland is a large Arctic island in North America with self-government while remaining within the Danish Realm.
Hans Island. Hans Island, also known as Tartupaluk, is a small island linked to a long-running boundary dispute that was settled by agreement in June 2022 involving Canada, Denmark, and Greenland.
Heard Island and McDonald Islands. Heard Island and McDonald Islands are remote sub-Antarctic islands administered as an external territory of Australia.
International Seabed Authority. The International Seabed Authority is an international body created under the Law of the Sea framework, linked to rules for seabed activities beyond national zones.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is a global treaty that sets many basic rules for ocean use, maritime zones, and related rights and duties.
Whisky War. The Whisky War is a popular nickname for the long, mostly friendly dispute around Hans Island between Canada and Denmark, connected to Greenland.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 