MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile denies conflict with Peru will be considered in Unasur defence meeting

Peruvian president Alan García has taken full advantage of the controversy

Chile said that the alleged espionage case involving a Peruvian military that passed sensitive information to a Chilean counterpart is a “bilateral issue” and firmly denied it was to be discussed in the coming Unasur (Union of South American nations) Defence Council.

Government spokesperson Carolina Tohá, following on the official line set out by Foreign Affairs minister Mariano Fernández stated on Monday that the issue “was not in the agenda” of the Unasur meeting in Quito next Friday,

Tohá strongly underlined that claims from the Peruvian administration of President Alan García against Chile, “which have repeatedly been denied by Minister Fernandez, are an issue to be addressed bilaterally”.

“Unasur does not have the issue in its agenda and the issue is strictly bilateral, and we believe that is how it must be addressed”, she added.

The idea was first proposed by Ecuadorian Foreign Affairs minister Fander Falconi who anticipated that the Chile/Peru espionage case and the political conflict between Colombia and Venezuela would be discussed by the Unasur Defence Council.

The meeting next Friday in Quito is expected to see the participation of the ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defence from all Unasur members: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay and Venezuela

Peru’s counterintelligence captured “red handed” a petty officer from the Peruvian Air Force who allegedly was passing sensitive data about his country’s Armed Forces to a Chilean contact.

According to a full 300 pages report that Peruvian officials delivered to Chile, Victor Ariza Mendoza was on the “Chilean payroll” since 2004 and for his services received 3.000 US dollars per month.

The report according to the Lima press includes judicial testimonies from the alleged spy, plus e-mails and links with contacts in Santiago de Chile.

Peru has said it has additional information but will only provide it if Chile agrees to a full judicial investigation exposing the network, contacts and names.

Chile reacted angrily saying the Chilean state is not in the business of spying.

However relations are tense since Peru has repeatedly accused Chile of being involved in a rearmament race having spent billions of US dollars in military hardware for the three services including German tanks; US F-16 fighter planes; British frigates and French submarines and lately US air to air and sea to air missiles.

Both countries have pending border controversies dating back to the 1870ies.