Hear
This week an unusual controversy between Argentina and Chili. And it is that A military construction in the Patagonian province of Tierra del Fuego “invaded” foreign territory by three meters, which led to a complaint to the ambassador in that country, Jorge Faurie. This is an installation of solar panels as part of Maritime Traffic Surveillance and Control Post Milestone 1 of Magallanes, donated by the Mirgor company. Chile wants them to withdraw “as soon as possible,” while Argentina assures that weather conditions do not yet allow it.
On April 26, the Argentine Navy inaugurated an enhancement of the place, which included the donation of two housing modules by Total Energies and two solar panels by Mirgor. During the ceremony, Commodore Marti Garro He stressed that “this initiative will improve the conditions of habitability, operation and sustainability of the post, constituting an example of joint work between the institutions of the National State and the contribution of private companies.” Regarding the solar panels, he maintained: “The work establishes a clear example of synergywhich is materialized in the work of construction companies and specialized labor based in the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands.”
The problem lies in the fact that these two solar panels cross three meters from the border with Chile, which caused the neighboring country to make a complaint to the Argentine ambassador, Jorge Faurie. In dialogue with THE NATION, The diplomat wanted to calm the waters about a potential diplomatic tension with Santiago and explained the circumstances of the installation of the panels.
“There is a fence which was understood to not be exactly the limit, there was a mistake“Faurie admitted when asked by this media. In this context, he said that he was alerted by a southern authority about the situation. “The Chilean Foreign Ministry informed me when I had a meeting yesterday about another issue, and having become aware of this claim, We said that we were going to proceed with the withdrawal. “It is a factual error,” he explained.
On the other hand, he mentioned the actions of the company that donated the panels: “The operators may not have consulted satellite coordinate indications, which would have been the most useful, but “They installed them taking a fence as a reference.”. Furthermore, he minimized the facts. “It is not a major issue.. They will be removed as soon as the weather conditions allow it,” he said, which would be in the summer. Finally, interviewed by local media, Faurie assured that the possibility of these panels also supplying the Chilean side is being considered.
The Argentine official was involved in a controversy in March, when during a visit to the Christ the Redeemer border crossing he reportedly said: “My country was already an agricultural power while you were just learning to eat.” That phrase generated a tense moment with the government of Gabriel Boric since the Chilean Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern.
For its part, despite the proposal to supply energy to the neighboring territory, The Chilean Foreign Ministry asked that the situation be resolved “as soon as possible”. “We received a note from Argentina acknowledging the error and offering to remove the solar panels in Chilean territory”sources from the government of the Andean country indicated THE NATION. “During Friday afternoon the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Glory of the Fountain He communicated with his Argentine counterpart, the vice chancellor Leopoldo Sahoresto point out the importance of resolve this situation as soon as possible.”they added.
From the neighboring country they assured that Argentina committed to “coordinate the technical teams to complete the withdrawal” of solar panels. During his visit to Switzerland for the Peace Summit in Ukraine, the Chilean Foreign Minister, Alberto van Klaveren, told local media that it is not “a serious matter” and hopes it will be resolved quickly. ““We believe this is a good faith error,” frame.
Both countries confirmed that technical teams will evaluate the territory and weather conditions to resolve the situation. THE NATION communicated with Foreign Ministry sources, in charge of Diana Mondino, but did not respond at the time of publication of this note.
