Friday, January 18, 2008

Chile and Peru again

The Chile-Peru maritime border dispute, which I discussed last August, is getting worse. Peru announced it would take the case to the International Court of Justice, and then Chile responded by recalling its ambassador. Chile claims the lines were set by treaties in 1952 and 1954—I’d love to read them myself to see what the deal is.

The economic benefits of fishing are at stake, though I have to think that Alan García is looking for the age-old nationalist boost by heroically protecting the country’s interests from a foreign foe. His approval ratings are low (41.6% in December) and last month he also had a big cabinet shake-up. However, given her own problems Michelle Bachelet has a very strong incentive to fight back hard, and is in no political position to compromise (even if she were so inclined).

4 comments:

Miguel Centellas 2:44 PM  

Of course, Bolivia wants to get in on this action, too.

Greg Weeks 4:11 PM  

What has the Bolivian government done? I haven't seen that.

Miguel Centellas 7:42 PM  

The Bolivian government has done anything (yet). But it's making sure that Peru's claims against Chile won't hinder Bolivia's territorial claims. Fortunately, Evo's not as devoted to turning the sea issue into his regime's issue de jure (unlike Carlos Mesa, who was).

LearningNetworks4D 11:39 AM  

The treaties of 1952 and 1954 treaties that Peru has declared unilaterally not valid to define the limits between Chile and Peru, also affect, Ecuador. Both treaties involve Ecuador, Chile and Peru. Unfortunately, regardless of Ecuador’s efforts to avoid any type of confrontation with Peru–generally due to his military and economic disparity—Peru has found a way to open the boundaries and eventually claim rights that belong to Ecuador. The international community must be aware of the new Peruvian attempt that would affect Ecuador more than Chile –Chile has a military and economic capacity to dissuade Peruvian attempts—but could let Ecuador vulnerable to the expansionist attitude of Peru to the north.

  © Blogger templates The Professional Template by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP