MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile protests to Argentina over a military chief's remarks on the Strait of Magellan

He did not specify which country he was attributing that sovereignty to, but Chilean authorities and media interpreted his words as an Argentine claim over the southern passage

Chile's foreign ministry announced on Monday it will send a note of protest to the Argentine government over remarks by the head of the Argentine Air Force General Staff, Brigadier General Gustavo Javier Valverde, in which he mentioned the Strait of Magellan while referring to sovereignty matters.

Valverde spoke on Sunday in an interview with the YouTube channel La Fábrica del Podcast. “Magellan, the south, the Drake, all of that is sovereignty. We have to maintain a presence there, because that is a bioceanic key, Atlantic-Pacific, and that can alert you to a great many things,” he said. He did not specify which country he was attributing that sovereignty to, but Chilean authorities and media interpreted his words as an Argentine claim over the southern passage.

Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna responded from Vietnam, where he was on an official visit. “Chile's sovereignty over the Strait of Magellan in its entirety is indisputable and is founded on the treaties of 1881 and 1984 signed by both countries,” he said, adding a “stern call to the authorities of other countries to be responsible with their statements and not confuse their citizens.” Interior Minister Claudio Alvarado said it was striking “that statements of this kind are raised from time to time, because there is nothing to discuss here.”

The announcement followed demands from lawmakers across the political spectrum. Socialist deputy Nelson Venegas argued that under international law, failing to protest such assertions may be construed as recognising foreign sovereignty over one's own territory. Alejandro Riquelme, a deputy for Magallanes, rejected the remarks and placed them within a series of earlier episodes.

The Strait of Magellan lies entirely under Chilean sovereignty under the 1881 Boundary Treaty and the 1984 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, the latter signed after the 1978 bilateral crisis over the Beagle Channel and mediation by the Holy See. The passage, together with the Drake — international waters between Cape Horn and Antarctica — is the main alternative to the Panama Canal for shipping between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

Valverde was appointed to head the Air Force General Staff in November 2024. He graduated from the Military Aviation School in 1989 and served as a fighter-bomber pilot.

Neither the Argentine government nor the Air Force had commented at the time of writing. The episode comes three weeks after Brazil downgraded its diplomatic relations with Buenos Aires to chargé d'affaires level.

 

 

 

 

Ver esta publicación en Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Una publicación compartida por Alejandro Riquelme Ducci (@alejandroriquelmeducci)