Government is open to relations with Chile, but insists on the sea

  Despite the determination of the President of Chile, Gabriel Boric, of "not negotiating the sovereignty" of his country, yesterday the Chancellor of the State, Rogelio Mayta, pointed out that Bolivia accepts to reestablish relations with the neighboring country but "without conditions" and that the maritime claim is "unrenounceable".

"They have talked to us about reestablishing diplomatic relations (with Chile), it is something that has been expressed publicly, it is there, it will probably enter this agenda that we must build. We have our maritime claim, we are going to sustain it", said the Chancellor at the time of clarifying that the two things can go together,

He added that it is necessary to be practical "in safeguarding the interests of Bolivians, but at no time leave aside the maritime claim".

However, he made it clear that the issue will not be addressed through the media, because international relations are very delicate, so when something has to be communicated, it will be done.

Differences

At the insistence of the maritime issue and the ruling of The Hague, the national authority referred that in this aspect there are divergences in the interpretation of the decision of the high court of international justice.

In October 2018, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Chile has no obligation to negotiate in good faith an exit to the Pacific Ocean for Bolivia.

"We have divergent positions; that does not limit the possibility that we can address other issues of interest to our countries, nor should it be a reason for us not to maintain or continue to uphold our maritime claim," he said.

He assured that after the Hague ruling there was a cooling of bilateral relations and that Chile even took the unilateral decision to denounce an international agreement by which Bolivian authorities could enter that nation without a visa.

"Now we do not need to obtain a visa if we want to travel to Chile as Bolivian authorities", he said, stating that, despite having differences with the administration of Sebastián Piñera, a work route was achieved and that he hopes that now, with the Boric government, with which there is a lot of affinity, an agenda of mutual interest will be consolidated.

 Bolivia and Chile established the 13-point agenda between Michelle Bachelet and Evo Morales in 2010. Then, the Bolivian government decided to sue its neighbor in 2013 before the ICJ for the maritime cause and the relations plan was left behind.

The agenda contemplated the development of mutual trust, free transit, the maritime issue, Silala and water resources, instruments to fight poverty, security and defense, as well as cooperation in different areas.

Bolivia and Chile, with the Silala at the ICJ

Bolivia and Chile have a meeting at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague within the lawsuit filed by the Mapuche nation for the use of the waters of the Silala.

The hearings will take place between April 1 and 14, and will be broadcast from the Peace Palace in The Hague, seat of the ICJ, in English, French and Spanish.

The signal will originate from the Court's website as well as the United Nations television web page.

It was also announced that, in view of the current Covid-19 pandemic, the hearings will be conducted in a hybrid format. Some will attend the trial in person and others will attend virtually.