President Gabriel Boric In recent hours, he referred to the diplomatic conflict that broke out in the south of the country as a result of the installation of a Argentine military base whose construction occupied part of Chilean territory. As detailed by the president, “an apology from the Argentine Foreign Ministry“, although he clarified that his country demands “This is to be resolved as soon as possible.”.
“We learned some time ago that Argentina, when installing a military base in the Patagonia region, installed solar panels in Chilean territory. We received an apology from the Argentine Foreign Ministry, but I would like to tell you very clearly that borders are not something with which there can be ambiguities and that it is a basic principle of respect between countries and that therefore they must withdraw those solar panels soon or we are going to do it ourselves“, he pointed Boric in statements to the press.
Boricwho is in Europe where he participated in the Ukraine Peace Summitclarified that he had discussed this diplomatic incident with his Argentinian counterpart, Javier Milei. Mileiaccording Borictold him that he would refer the consultations to his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Diana Mondino. “I imagine that we are not going to have problems in this regard, but it is a misleading signal, a signal that we do not like and therefore what we demand is that this be resolved in the shortest possible time and I insist, if not we are going to do we“said the Chilean head of state.
“With Argentina we have an excellent relationship between States and it is important to maintain that relationship and not make escalating statements or try to get creative about this.“, said Boric and remarked: “What we have to do here is respect the borders. That is what we are demanding regarding our territory, As I said, either they take it out or we take it out as soon as possible.. But with Argentina we are united by many things. Therefore, I do not intend for us to escalate tension between relationships regarding this, to the extent that brevity is resolved.”
On April 29, the Argentina Army inaugurated the “Maritime Traffic Surveillance and Control Post Milestone 1”, on the exact border that divides the country with Chile in the middle of Patagonia. However, some solar panels used to provide electricity were passed three meters to Chilean territory, causing discomfort in the Chilean government that formally claimed the Pink House.
For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile, Alberto van Klaverenpointed out that “the president did not refer to the intentions that Argentina or the company that installed the panels that are effectively in Chilean territory could have had. What matters is basically that there is a facility that is in Chilean territory and the president was very clear in the sense of requesting its immediate removal. either on the part of Argentina or if this is not possible on our part, and at the same time he recalled the importance of relations between both countries,” according to the Chilean newspaper. Third.
A few days ago, the Argentine ambassador Jorge Faurie recognized the error and tried to put cold cloths on the matter, ensuring that “It is not such an impressive work, it is some solar panels placed but they did not check carefully what were the coordinates that marked the limit”. With a conciliatory tone, the ambassador offered an alternative “that we are considering and talking to the Chilean authorities: that those panels that are electricity providers could also supply the Chilean side, which would be useful for the garrison they have there,” he concluded. . However, Chile does not evaluate this as a viable option.
The alarmist reactions did not wait and it was the senator Pedro Araya (PPD), president of the Defense Commission of the Upper House, who opened the fire, pointing out that even if it is a small error of three meters, the work should be demolished and that they will summon Chancellor Alberto van Klaveren to Congress to explain the controversy.
“We believe that the Foreign Ministry acts correctly when demanding explanations of the case and without a doubt, what is appropriate is the demolition of this infrastructure, given that it is located in Chilean territory”, Shooting.
For his part, the deputy Francisco Undurraga (Evópoli), president of the Defense Commission of the Lower House, was also “very worried”.
“Unfortunately, when we are talking about limits and bordersthe Government has to be extremely rigorous in demanding non-violation of it. We are very worried. If this had happened the other way around, the Argentine government would have been not so lax as was our Chancellor in his reaction,” he concluded.
