Peru President Michelle Bachelet said her meeting with her Peruvian counterpart Alan García during the fifth Summit of the Americas held in Trinidad and Tobago was “satisfactory,” reported Radio Radio Programas, or RPP, on Monday.
“It was a normal reunion, and we have determined that it is fundamental that commercial relations maintain their usual course,” said Bachelet in comments to RPP.
“We can’t say that the relationship has the same intensity it once had, because the judicial proceedings have caused some distancing” said García. “But both countries and their people know that this is strictly a judicial issue and not emotional or passion-filled. So, we will continue to facilitate exchanges to benefit both countries.”
In January 2007, Peru began proceedings against Chile today at the International Court of Justice, ICJ, in The Hague over a maritime dispute that dates back 120 years. According to the ICJ, the dispute is related to “the delimitation of the boundary between the maritime zones of the two States in the Pacific Ocean” and the recognition of “a maritime zone lying within 200 nautical miles of Peru’s coast.”
The dispute dates back to the 1879 – 1883 War of the Pacific, in which Peru and Bolivia lost substantial territory to Chile. Central to the row is 38,000 square kilometers, or about 14,500 square miles, of fishing-rich sea which Chile currently controls.
The maritime dispute has caused considerable tension in the past. In August 2007, Chile recalled its ambassador from Peru after the State-run newspaper, daily El Peruano, published an official map that indicated Peru’s control over the contentious area.
Despite major investments in Peru by Chilean businesses, the relationship between both countries has remained sensitive since the War of the Pacific (1879-1881), when Peru lost territory on its south coast. The border issue flares up seasonally, many Peruvians harbor a deep suspicion of Chilean intentions, and the Peruvian military is acutely sensitive to any upgrading of Chilean military material.
