“The reestablishment of diplomatic relations can only be given within the framework of the solution to the pending maritime issue,” said the leftist Arce in an act for the Day of the Sea.
This national date commemorates the loss of the Bolivian coastline at the hands of Chile after the War of the Pacific (1879-1884).
“Bolivia’s right to the sea is an inalienable and imprescriptible right over the territory that gives it access to the Pacific Ocean,” Arce added, citing an article of his country’s Constitution.
These statements take place two weeks after the leftist Boric took power in Chile, a neighboring country with which Bolivia has not had diplomatic relations since 1978.
The new president met with Arce right after taking office and assured that “it is absurd that two neighboring countries with a common history in Latin America do not have diplomatic relations for so long.”
But he stressed that “Chile does not negotiate its sovereignty.”
“If the only discussion with Bolivia is regarding sovereignty, we will not get anywhere because we have different positions. However, we do have many points on which we can reach agreements,” Boric concluded.
After years of attempts to resolve the maritime dispute bilaterally, Bolivia sued Chile in 2013 before the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) to force him to negotiate an outlet to the sea.
But the ICJ dismissed Bolivia’s request in 2018 based on alleged promises made by different Chilean governments during negotiations throughout the 20th century.
Every year, the Bolivian government remembers the loss of 120,000 km2 of territory and 400 km of coastline with a ceremony honoring its fallen heroes.
The longing for an outlet to the sea is one of the few issues that unite Bolivians, a people with strong ethnic and ideological divisions.
Bolivia even has a national symbol in reference to the historic conflict: the Maritime Claim Flag, which combines a navy blue background with the national flag and the ‘wiphala’ of the original native peoples.
Source: Ambito
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