(Redirected from Argentina - Chile Relations)
'Argentina - Chile relations' refers to
interstate relations between the
Republic of Chile and the
Argentine Republic. Argentina and Chile share the world's third-longest international border, which is 5,300 km long and runs from north to the south along the
Andes mountains. During much of the 19th and the 20th century, relations between the countries chilled due to disputes over
Patagonia, though in recent years relations have improved dramatically. Despite increased trade between the two countries they have followed quite different economic policies; Chile has signed free trade agreements with countries such as
China,
EU, the
USA,
Canada and
South Korea and is an active member of the
APEC, while Argentina belongs to the
Mercosur regional free trade area.
Historical Relations (1550-1989)
Rule under Spain and Independence
Both countries have traditionally had a difficult relationship with the other. These difficulties can be traced back to colonial times. Chile and Argentina were colonized as offshoots of different colonies; Chile was an extension of the
conquest of Peru and Argentina was colonized by Spaniards arriving directly from the Atlantic Ocean. Both countries were later consolidated into separate
Viceroyalties, which were vexed by inexact and changing borders.
Argentina and Chile were close allies during the wars of independence from
Spain. Chile, like most of the revolting colonies, was defeated at a point by Spanish armies, while Argentina remained independent throughout its war with Spain. After the Chilean defeat in the
Disaster of Rancagua the remnants of the Chilean Army took refuge in
Mendoza. As Argentinian General
José de San Martín was by that time governor of the region, he formed the
Army of the Andes (which was made up by Argentine soldiers and Chilean exiles). In 1817, General San Martín crossed the
Andes with Chilean hero
Bernardo O'Higgins and together they defeated the Spaniards and confirmed the
Chilean Independence. While he was in Chile, San Martín was offered the presidency of Chile, which he declined, instead proposing that O'Higgins serve as head of state. San Martín later commanded the Army of the Andes, which was at that point made up mostly of Chilean soldiers, in the liberation of Peru from Spanish rule. After a successful campaign, he proclaimed the
independence of Peru in
1821.
Claims on Patagonia
Map of the area most commonly defined as
Patagonia
Argentina
declared its Independence in
1816 and Chile in
1818 and after the Spaniards were expelled, the relations soured. This was primarily due to a border dispute: both nations claimed the totality of
Patagonia.
Attempts to clear up the dispute were unsuccessful until
1881, when Chile was fighting the
War of the Pacific against both
Bolivia and
Peru. In order to avoid fighting Argentina as well, Chilean President
Aníbal Pinto authorized his envoy,
Diego Barros Arana to hand over as much territory as was needed to avoid Argentina siding with Bolivia and Peru. Barros succeeded in his mission: Argentina received the Atlantic coast and Chile the Pacific coast.
As the
Andes are split by fjords and channels the southernmost parts of the Chile-Argentina border are mostly defined by parallels and meridians
However, border disputes continued as Patagonia was still an unexplored area. The definition of the border used in 1881 established the highest mountains that divides the drainage basins to the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic as border. This concept was easy to apply in northern regions but in Patagonia drainage basins crossed the Andes; this led to dispute what over the highest peaks would the frontier or the drainage basins. In
1902, war was again avoided when British King
Edward VII agreed to mediate between the two nations. He established the current border in the Patagonia region in part by dividing many disputed lakes into two equal parts, most of these lakes still have one name on each side of the frontier.
Trouble once again began to brew in the
1960s, when Argentina began to claim that the
Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands in the
Beagle Channel were rightfully hers, although this was in direct contradiction of the 1884 treaty.
Beagle conflict
Main articles: Beagle conflict
Map of Picton, Lennox and Nueva
The three small islands of
Picton, Lennox and Nueva are strategically located south of the
Beagle Channel and with a congruent maritime extension of 30,000 square miles, including fishing and mineral (presumably oil) rights, and possible
Antarctic Peninsula territorial claims, the zone had been in contention since the 19th Century when both Argentina and Chile declared independence from
Spain.
On
1978 bilateral negotiations failed and relations became extremely tense. On December 11, Pope
John Paul II sent a personal message to both presidents urging a peaceful solution and both countries allow the Pope to mediate the dispute through the good offices of Cardinal
Antonio Samoré, his special envoy.
On January 9,
1979 the
Act of Montevideo was signed in
Uruguay pledging both sides to a peaceful solution and a return to the military situation of early 1977.
The Falklands/Malvinas War
Main articles: Falklands War
In
1982, with the still pending Beagle conflict, Chile, then under
General Pinochet's regime, became the only major Latin American country to support Britain during the
Falklands War, but then only indirectly by providing a military and naval diversion. The Chilean government was possibly concerned that if Argentina succeeded in taking the Falklands,
General Galtieri's government would invade or attack Chile. The
''Chilean Connection'' is described in detail by
Sir Lawrence Freedman in his book ''The Official History of the Falklands Campaign''.
Post-Pinochet democratic governments have given greater support to the Argentine claim.
[1] [2] [3]
Peace and Friendship Treaty
:''See also'': ''
Beagle conflict solution''
The ''Tratado de Paz y Amistad'' in
Spanish was an agreement signed in
1984 between Argentina and Chile establishing the friendship relation between the two countries.
Particularly, the treaty also defines limitation of the
Strait of Magellan and over the possession of the
Picton, Lennox and Nueva islands and sea located south of
Tierra del Fuego, granting the islands to Chile and maritime rights to Argentina.
After that, other border disputes were resolved by peaceful means.
Recent years (1990-2007)
In the
1990s relations improved dramatically. The dictator and last president of the Argentine
Military Junta General
Reynaldo Bignone called for democratic elections in
1983 and
Augusto Pinochet of Chile in
1990. As a consequence militaristic tendencies faded in the
Southern Cone. The Argentinian presidents
Carlos Menem and
Fernando de la Rúa had particularly good relations with Chile.
Border issues
In bilateral manner, both countries settled all the remaining disputes except ''Laguna del Desierto'', which was decided by International Arbitration in
1994. The decision favoured Argentine claims.
According to a
1998 negotiation held in Buenos Aires, a 50 kilometers section of the boundary in the
Southern Patagonian Ice Field is still pending of mapping and demarcation according to the limits already settled by the 1881 treaty. In
2006 president
Néstor Kirchner invited Chile to define the border, but
Michelle Bachelet's government left the invitation unanswered. The same year, the Chilean government sent a note to Argentina complaining about Argentine tourism maps that showed a normal boundary in the Southern Patagonian Icefield with most of the area belonging to Argentina. (
map of the area)
Officially Chile supports the Argentine claim on the
Falkland Islands which they named Islas Malvinas.
[1] [5]
Geopolitics over Antarctica and the control of the passages between the south Atlantic and the south Pacific have lead to the founding of cities and towns such as
Ushuaia and
Puerto Williams both claiming to be the southernmost cities in world.
Actually in the
Antarctica both countries, along with the
United Kingdom, have
research bases. The three nations claims the totality of
Antarctic Peninsula but according to the
Antarctic Treaty System signed in
1959 by all the countries present in that continent, all territorial claims south of the 60th
parallel are suspended.
''See also:
Argentine Antarctica,
Antártica Chilena Province
Economy and Energy
Menem signed a
Natural gas exportation treaty with Chilean president
Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle in
1996. In
2005, President
Néstor Kirchner unilaterally temporarily suspended the treaty according Argentine laws due a
supply shortage experienced by Argentina. The situation in Argentina was finally resolved when Argentina increased its own importations from
Bolivia, a country with virtually no diplomatic relations with Chile since
1978 due to the
Atacama border dispute. In the importation contract signed with Bolivia it was specified that not even a drop of Bolivian gas could be sold to Chile from Argentina. Following his energy policies Kirchner announced the end of
cereal crop exportation to Chile to secure the home market as more land is going to be used for
biofuels producing crops, specially
soybeans.
Trade between the two countries is made mostly over the
mountain passes (see list) that have enough infrastructure for large scale trade.
The trade balance shows a lot of asymmetry as of
2005 Chile is the 3rd export trading partner for Argentina, behind
Brazil and the
United States.
[6]. Some well known import products from Argentina in Chile include cereals and meat. More recently large amounts of Chilean capital have been invested in Argentina, specially in the retail market.
In
1996, Chile became an associated member of
Mercosur, a regional trade agreement that Argentina and Brazil created in the
1990s. This associated membership does not mean full membership, and is seen by some a political gest only as Chile's economy is more free market oriented is not compatible with the protectionistic Mercosur market.
Sports
In
2003, Argentine
AFA's president suggested that both countries launch a joint bid for the
2014 FIFA World Cup but was abandoned in favour of
a
CONMEBOL unified posture to allow the tournament be hosted in
Brazil.
Military integration
Since 1990s, both militaries began a close defense cooperation and friendship policy. On September
1991 they signed together with
Brazil the Mendoza Declaration, which commits signatories not to use, develop, produce, acquire, stock, or transfer —directly or indirectly—
chemical or biological weapons.
Joint exercises were established on an annually basis in the three armed forces alternately in Argentina and Chile territory. An example of such maneuvers is the ''Patrulla Antártica Naval Combinada'' (
English: Joint Antarctic Naval Patrol) performed by both Navies to guarantee safety to all touristic and scientific ships that are in transit within the
Antarctic Peninsula.
Both nations are highly involved in UN
peacekeeping missions.
UNFICYP in
Cyprus was a precedent where Chilean troops are embedded in the Argentine contingent.
[7] They played a key role together at
MINUSTAH in
Haiti and in
2005 they begun the formation of a joint force for future
United Nations mandates.
[8]
In an another gesture of confidence, on June 24, 2007, a
Gendarmeria Nacional Argentina (Border Guard) patrol was given permission to enter Chile to rescue tourists after their bus became trapped in snow
[9]
References
★
Historia de las Relaciones Exteriores Argentinas by Carlos Escudé and Andrés Cisneros
1. Chile supported the rights of Argentina in the dispute, believing that the only viable way forward was through bilateral negotiations between Argentina and the United Kingdom
2. Chilean Foreign Office: CHILE REAFIRMA SU POSICIÓN SOBRE ISLAS MALVINAS
3. Chilean Foreign Minister Soledad Alvear reaffirms support to Argentine claim
4. Chile supported the rights of Argentina in the dispute, believing that the only viable way forward was through bilateral negotiations between Argentina and the United Kingdom
5. [1] ''CHILE REAFIRMA SU POSICIÓN SOBRE ISLAS MALVINAS. La Cancillería reafirmó la política del Gobierno de Chile de respaldar los legítimos derechos de soberanía de la República Argentina en la disputa referida a la cuestión de las Islas Malvinas. '']
6. [2]
7. Argentine Army: UNFICYP
UN: Cyprus - UNFICYP - Facts and Figures
Chilean Army: Misión de la ONU en Chipre desde el año 2003
Brasilian Army: UNFICYP
8. Avance para la fuerza combinada con Chile
9. Clarin newspaper: ''Rescatan a 50 pasajeros que quedaron varados por la nieve en el norte chileno'' (spanish)
See also
★
Foreign relations of Argentina
★
Foreign relations of Chile
External links
★
Official website of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Relations, International Trade and Worship
★
Official website of the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Relations
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