Since its return to democracy in 1990, Chile has been an active participant in the regional and international arena.[1] Chile assumed a two-year non-permanent position on the UN Security Council in January 2003 and was re-elected to the council in October 2013.[2] It is also an active member of the UN family of agencies, serving as a member of the Commission on Human Rights and participating in UN peacekeeping activities. Chile hosted the second Summit of the Americas in 1998, was the chair of the Rio Group in 2001, hosted the Defense Ministerial of the Americas in 2002, and the APEC summit and related meetings in 2004. In 2005 it hosted the Community of Democracies ministerial conference. It is an associate member of Mercosur and a full member of APEC. The OECD agreed to invite Chile to be among four countries to open discussions in becoming an official member.[3]
Diplomatic relations
List of countries which Chile maintains diplomatic relations with:[4][5]
Chile and Argentina were close allies during the wars of independence against Spain. Argentine General José de San Martín crossed the Andes with Chilean independence hero Bernardo O'Higgins and together they defeated the Spaniards. However, after independence, relations soured. This was primarily due to a border dispute: both nations claimed the totality of the Patagonia region.[122]
Attempts to clear up the dispute were unsuccessful until 1881, when Chile was at war with both Bolivia and Peru. In order to avoid fighting Argentina as well, Chilean President Aníbal Pinto authorized his envoy, Diego Barros Arana to hand over as much territory as was needed to avoid Argentina siding with Bolivia and Peru. Barros succeeded in his mission: Argentina was granted east Patagonia and Chile the Strait of Magellan.[122]
However, border disputes continued. In 1902, war was again avoided when British King Edward VII agreed to mediate between the two nations. He established the current border in the Patagonia region.[122]
On 25 January 1978, the Argentina military junta led by General Jorge Videla declared the award fundamentally null and intensified their claim over the islands. On 22. December 1978, Argentina started[123] the Operation Soberanía over the disputed islands, but the invasion was halted due to:[124]
The newspaper Clarín explained some years later that such caution was based, in part, on military concerns. In order to achieve a victory, certain objectives had to be reached before the seventh day after the attack. Some military leaders considered this not enough time due to the difficulty involved in transportation through the passes over the Andean Mountains.
and in cite 46:
According to Clarín, two consequences were feared. First, those who were dubious feared a possible regionalization of the conflict. Second, as a consequence, the conflict could acquire great power proportions. In the first case decisionmakers speculated that Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Brazil might intervene. Then the great powers could take sides. In this case, the resolution of the conflict would depend not on the combatants, but on the countries that supplied the weapons.
In December that year, moments before Videla signed a declaration of war against Chile, Pope John Paul II agreed to mediate between the two nations. The Pope's envoy, Antonio Samorè, successfully averted war and proposed a new definitive boundary in which the three disputed islands would remain Chilean. Chile immediately accepted this decision, but Argentina still disliked and avoided acceptance until after the lost Falklands War in 1982. Both agreed to Samoré's proposal and signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina, ending that dispute.[125]
In the 1990s, under presidents Frei and Menem both countries solved almost all of the remaining border disputes during bilateral talks. They also agreed to submit Laguna del Desierto to international arbitration in 1994. Almost the entire disputed area was awarded to Argentina.[126]
The last border dispute are 50 km (31 mi). in the Southern Patagonian Ice Field from Mount Fitz Roy to Mount Daudet that is still officially undefined.[127][128] In August 2006, however, a tourist map was published in Argentina placing the disputed region within the borders of that country. Chile filed an official complaint, sparking renewed efforts to settle the dispute which the Argentine government supports and urged Chile to finish quick as possible the demarcation of the international border.[129]
Since democratization in the 1980s, both countries began a close economic and political integration as Chile became an associated member of Mercosur. Also both countries practice defense cooperation and friendship policy.[citation needed]
Argentina has an embassy in Santiago and several consulates throughout the country.
Chile has an embassy in Buenos Aires and several consulates throughout the country.
Barbados is accredited in Chile through its embassy in Caracas, (Venezuela). Chile is accredited to Barbados from its embassy in Port of Spain, (Trinidad and Tobago) and maintains an honorary consulate in Bridgetown. Barbados and Chile formally established diplomatic relations on 3 October 1967.[130] Chile was the first Latin American country with which Barbados formally established formal diplomatic relations.[131] Both countries raised the agenda of rekindling ties in 2005 as a precursor to the attempted Free Trade Area of the Americas trade bloc. At current both blocs have discussed the introduction of a free trade agreement[132][133] and more specifically Chile and CARICOM have specifically noted the possibility of establishing a free trade agreement.[134]
Chilean President Ricardo Lagos visited Barbados on February 20–21, 2005[135] The Barbados Prime Minister later reciprocated by official visit to Chile in November 2005. As part of their meeting the Government of Barbados pledged support to Chilean-diplomat José Miguel Insulza for the post of Secretary General to the Organization of American States (OAS). [citation needed] In May 2009, Prime Minister David Thompson outlined his plan to further Barbadian relations in the Americas. As part of his outline he named Chile as one of three countries which he desired his government would further enhance relations with in South America.[136] In August 2017 President Bachelet visited Barbados and met with her Barbadian counterpart to discuss mutual areas of cooperation.[137][138][139]
Barbados is accredited to Chile from its embassy in Brasília, Brazil.
Chile is accredited to Barbados from its embassy in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
Relations with Bolivia have been strained ever since the independence wars because of the Atacama border dispute (Bolivia claims a corridor to the Pacific Ocean). The Spaniards never bothered to definitively establish a border between Chile and Bolivia. Chile claimed its limit with Peru ran through the Loa River and that Bolivia was therefore landlocked, while Bolivia claimed it did have a coast and that the limit with Chile ran along the Salado River. The border remained vague throughout the 19th century. Finally, Bolivia and Chile agreed, in 1866, to allow Bolivia access to the Pacific and that the limit of the two countries would run along the 24th parallel. The area between the 25th and 23rd parallel would remain demilitarized and both nations would be allowed to mine there.[141] It was also agreed that taxes on the exportation of saltpeter would not increase.[citation needed]
However, in 1879, Bolivian dictator General Hilarión Daza increased the taxes on the exportation of saltpeter, violating the 1866 treaty. When Chilean-owned saltpeter companies protested, Daza expropriated their companies and sold them in a public auction. Daza then put an end to all commerce with Chile and exiled all Chilean residents in Bolivia (the Bolivian port of Antofagasta had more Chileans than Bolivians). In response, Chile declared war on Bolivia and occupied Bolivia's coast. Peru had, in 1873, signed a secret pact with Bolivia in which the two countries agreed to fight together against any nation that threatened either of them. When Peru refused to be neutral in the conflict between Chile and Bolivia, Chile declared war on Peru. Chile defeated both countries and annexed the coast claimed by Bolivia. This was ratified in a 1904 treaty.[142]
Diplomatic relations with Bolivia continued to be strained because of Bolivia's continuing aspiration to the sea. In 1964, Bolivian President Víctor Paz Estenssoro severed diplomatic relations with Chile. Generals Augusto Pinochet and Hugo Banzer resumed diplomatic relations and attempted to settle territorial disputes. The secret negotiations started in 1973 and in 1975 diplomatic relations between Chile and Bolivia were established. That year, both dictators met in the Bolivian border town of Charaña. Pinochet agreed to give Bolivia a small strip of land running between the Chilean city of Arica and the Peruvian border. However the Treaty of Lima between Peru and Chile specified that Chile must consult Peru before granting any land to a third party in the area of Tarapacá. Peruvian dictator General Francisco Morales Bermúdez did not agree with the Charaña proposal and instead drafted his own proposal, in which the three nations would share administration of the port of Arica and the sea immediately in front of it. Pinochet refused this agreement, and Banzer broke ties with Chile again in 1978. The failure of the Charaña accords was one of the reasons of Banzer's downfall that very year.[citation needed]
Chile and Bolivia maintain consular relations, and appear to have become friendlier. Former Chilean President Ricardo Lagos attended the inauguration of current Bolivian President Evo Morales. Morales has repeatedly announced his intention to establish diplomatic relations with Chile once more, but has still not given up Bolivia's claim to the sea.[citation needed]
After the War of the Pacific (1879–83) pursued a policy of promoting friendly relationships between countries with disputes with Chile's neighbors. In doing so Chile made attempts to establish friendly relationships between Ecuador and Colombia, both were countries that had serious territorial disputes with Peru in the Amazon. Military cooperation with Ecuador grew considerably after the War of the Pacific with Chile sending instructors to the military academy in Quito and selling superfluous arms and munitions to Ecuador.[144] Despite Chile's over-all good relations with Ecuador both countries had a minor diplomatic crisis resulting from the capture of the Peruvian torpedo boat Alay in Ecuadorian territorial waters during the war.[145]
The two nations have maintained relations since 1831.[148]
On May 20, 1914, Chile and the other ABC Powers met in Niagara Falls, Canada, to mediate diplomatically to avoid a state of war between the United States and Mexico over the Veracruz Incident and the Tampico Affair. In 1974, Mexico severed diplomatic relations over the overthrow of President Salvador Allende. For the next fifteen years, Mexico would accept thousands of Chilean refugees who were escaping the government of General Augusto Pinochet. Diplomatic relations between the two nations were re-established in 1990. Currently both countries have signed a free trade agreement that went into effect in 1999.[149] Both nations are founding members of the Pacific Alliance and are the only two Latin-American nations to be members of the OECD.
Chile-United States relations have been better in the period 1988 to the present than any other time in history. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, The United States government applauded the rebirth of democratic practices in Chile, despite having facilitated the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, the build-up to which included destabilizing the country's economy and politics.
Chile recognized the Republic of China until 1970, when diplomatic recognition was switched to the People's Republic of China under the left-leaning Allende. After the 1973 coup by the Pinochet-led junta, diplomatic relations were cut between Chile and all Communist nations, with the exception of China and Romania.
The strongly anti-Communist military government in Chile maintained friendly ties with the Communist government in China for the remainder of the Cold War, with Pinochet crediting the Chinese for abiding by the principle of non-interference in other nations' internal affairs.[152] China and Chile exchanged military missions and the Soviet Chilean copper exports to China and Chinese loans The friendly relations were cemented by a share distaste for the Soviet Union, the Chinese diplomatic principle of non-interference in other nations' internal affairs, and a willingness to overlook ideological differences in the pursuit of economic ties.[153]
Chile was the first country in South America to sign a trade agreement with India, in 1956. An ongoing dialogue has nurtured bilateral political understanding. The mechanism of Foreign Office level consultations was initiated in Santiago in August 2000, and was followed up with a second meeting in New Delhi in April, 2003. However, high-level political exchanges have been few and far between. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi visited Chile in 1968, Transport and Communications Minister K.P. Unnikrishnan in 1990, and President Shankar Dayal Sharma in 1995. From the Chilean side, there has not been any HOS/HOG visit to India. As an indication of Chile's interest in an enhanced relationship, the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture visited India in December 2001.[citation needed]
Chile has an embassy in New Delhi and a consulate-general in Mumbai.
Bilateral relations between Chile and Indonesia were established in 1964. These relations were strengthened by the establishment of the Indonesian embassy in Santiago in March 1991.
Iran severed its diplomatic ties with Chile on August 18, 1980, protesting Pinochet regime's repressive internal policies and giving the Chilean Chargé d'affaires in Tehran 15 days to close the embassy and leave the country.[154]
Iran and Chile resumed relations on December 2, 1991, with Iran opening its embassy in Santiago, only to close it again in 1999 citing financial problems. The Iranian embassy in Santiago was finally reopened in 2007 at full ambassador level.[155]
Chile recognized Israel's independence in February 1949.[156][157] Both countries established diplomatic relation on 16 May 1950, with Israel sending their first ambassador on that date and Chile sending their first ambassador on 16 June 1952.[156]
Chile and Japan established diplomatic relations on 25 September 1897. Chile severed diplomatic relations with Japan on 20 January 1943 due to World War II. Chile and Japan re-established diplomatic relations on 7 October 1952.
The Chile–Malaysia relations is mainly based on trade. In 2009, the total trade between Chile and Malaysia is $336 million with the total Malaysian export to Chile were $16.8 million while the import with $148.7 million.[160]
Chile–Pakistan relations refers to the current and historical relationship between Chile and Pakistan. Formal diplomatic relations between the two states established in 2008.
Chile is accredited to Pakistan from its embassy in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
Pakistan is accredited to Chile from its embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Chile and the Philippines were both former Spanish colonies. Diplomatic relations between Chile and the Philippines began way back in 1854 when Chile opened a consulate in Binondo, Manila. But the formal relations established on July 4, 1946, the day that the Philippines officially gained their official independence from the United States.During the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos in 1980, he invited Augusto Pinochet to visit the country, but later he refused Pinochet's plane to land in the country, this was because of a US program to isolate Pinochet's regime, in which the US pressured Marcos to cancel Pinochet's visit.Chilean-Philippines relations were strained until 1986, when Corazon Aquino later ousted Marcos in the People Power Revolution.
Chile re-recognized Estonia in 1991 and diplomatic relations between the two countries were established on September 27, 1991.
An agreement on visa-free travel between Estonia and Chile came to force on 2 December 2000.[167][168][169] The two countries also have in force a Memorandum on co-operation between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs.[167] Agreements on cultural, tourism, and IT cooperation are being readied.[167]
Chile is among Estonia's most important foreign trade partners in South America.[170]
In 2007, trade between Estonia and Chile was valued at 6.3 million EUR. Estonian exports included mainly machinery, mechanical equipment, and mineral fuels; Chile exports included mainly wine, fish, crustaceans and fruit. In 2004, 83% of Chile exports to Estonia, then totaling 2.4 million EUR, consisted of wine.[167] In 2008, Chilean wines held the highest share of Estonia's imported wine market, followed by Spanish wines.[171] Due to its climate being unsuitable for large-scale grape production, most wine sold in Estonia is imported.
In 2006, Estonia and Chile issued the joint Antarctic themed stamp series, designed by Ülle Marks and Jüri Kass, bearing images of the Emperor penguin and the minke whale.[172] The works of Chilean writers Isabel Allende, Pablo Neruda and José Donoso have been translated into Estonian.[167]
Chile is accredited to Estonia from its embassy in Helsinki, Finland.
Estonia is accredited to Chile from its embassy in Brasília, Brazil.
Chile recognised Finland's independence on June 17, 1919. Diplomatic relations between them were established in 1931 and have been continuously maintained, despite pressures at times to discontinue them.[173] The two countries maintain resident ambassadors in both capitals.[173]
In 1965 diplomatic relations were renewed. Even though most of the Eastern European countries broke their relations with Chile after 1973. Romania retained diplomatic relations with Chile.
Approximately 3,000 Chileans looked for asylum in Romania during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship.
Both countries have established diplomatic relations 1935. They were renewed in 1946. Diplomatic relations were broken off on two occasions, in 1947 and 1973, and the last renewal was in March 1990.[176]
A number of bilateral agreements in various fields have been concluded and are in force between both countries.[177]
Chile is accredited to Serbia from its embassy in Athens, Greece.
Serbia is accredited to Chile from its embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Chile supported Britain politically, to a degree during the Falklands War. Britain supported the dictator Pinochet, granting him asylum, and even returning him back to Chile after numerous requests for criminal extradition by Spain, Argentina, Peru, and many other countries.
Chile has typically been Britain's strongest partner in South America. Britain has played an important role in shaping Chile's politics and government, throughout the ages (especially in its fight for independence)
Diplomatic relations date back from the time when Australia was a British colony. During the Australian gold rush, the population grew fast and Chile became one of Australia's major wheat suppliers, with a regular traffic of ships between Sydney and Valparaíso. Australia and Chile signed the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement on July 30, 2008. The agreement came into effect in the first quarter of 2009. Australia was one of several international partners with Chile in the Gemini Observatory, with one of the two 8 m telescopes of the observatory located at the summit of Cerro Pachón in Chile. Both countries are members of APEC, OECD and the Cairns Group.
^Egbert, Lawrence Deems; Cooper, Donald H. (1941). Manual de referencia de tratados comerciales latinoamericanos (in Spanish). United States Tariff Commission. p. 214.
^Colección de tratados celebrados por la República de Chile con los estados extranjeros (in Spanish). Imprenta nacional. 1857. p. 80.
^Libro amarillo correspondiente al año ...: presentado al Congreso Nacional en sus sesiones ordinarias de ... por el titular despacho (in Spanish). Venezuela. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. 2003. p. 528.
^Egbert, Lawrence Deems; Cooper, Donald H. (1941). Manual de referencia de tratados comerciales latinoamericanos (in Spanish). United States Tariff Commission. p. 103.
^Egbert, Lawrence Deems; Cooper, Donald H. (1941). Manual de referencia de tratados comerciales latinoamericanos (in Spanish). United States Tariff Commission. p. 86.
^Chile-Espana: tratados de Paz y Amistad : firmados, el primero en Madrid, el 25 de abril de 1844, y el segundo en Lima, el 12 de junio de 1883 (in Spanish). 1930.
^Memoria del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores (in Spanish). Chile. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. 1898. pp. CLXXV.
^"Chile National Day Special"(PDF). The Japan Times. Retrieved 18 September 2024. For Chile and Japan, this month also has a very special meaning, since it was on Sept. 25, 1897, when our nations signed the Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation that marked the beginning of our bilateral diplomatic relations.
^Egbert, Lawrence Deems; Cooper, Donald H. (1941). Manual de referencia de tratados comerciales latinoamericanos (in Spanish). United States Tariff Commission. p. 113.
^Boletin oficial (in Spanish). Vol. 2–5. Cuba. Departamento de Estado. 1908. pp. 68–70.
^Memoria Del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores Y Comercio Correspondiente Al Año ... (in Spanish). Chile. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Comercio. 1937. p. 703. HAITI Legación Enviado Extraordinario y Ministro Plenipotenciario señor Emilio Edwards Bello (reside en La Habana).—(26-VII-34).
^ abMensaje de S.E. el Presidente de la República don Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez al Congreso Nacional al inaugurar el período ordinario de sesiones 21 de mayo de 1961 (in Spanish). 1961. p. 28.
^Memoria que el Ministro de Estado en el Departamento de Relaciones Exteriores presenta al Congreso Nacional de... (in Spanish). 1962. p. 26.
^Afghanistan News Volume 5. Information Bureau, Royal Afghan Embassy. 1962.
^Memoria que el Ministro de Estado en el Departamento de Relaciones Exteriores presenta al Congreso Nacional de... (in Spanish). Impr. Nacional. 1963. p. 29.
^Memoria que el Ministro de Estado en el Departamento de Relaciones Exteriores presenta al Congreso Nacional de ... (in Spanish). Chile. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. 1963. p. 168.
^ abCastillo, Jorge Vera (1987). La Política exterior chilena durante el gobierno del presidente Salvador Allende, 1970-1973 (in Spanish). Instituto de Estudios de las Relaciones Internacionales Contemporáneas. pp. 546–547.
^ abPrada, Hugo Harvey (2012). Las relaciones entre Chile e Israel, 1973-1990. La conexión oculta (in Spanish). RIL Editores. p. 68.
^Vieyra, Walter Luzio (1987). Realizaciones del gobierno de las Fuerzas Armadas y Carabineros, 1973-1986: desde el 11 de septiembre de 1973, hasta 1986 y los acontecimientos más importantes de los primeros meses de 1987 (in Spanish). Empresa Nacional de Publicaciones. p. 216.
^Mensaje presidencial, 11 septiembre 1978-11 septiembre 1979 (in Spanish). Chile. President (1974-1990 : Pinochet Ugarte). 1979. p. 57. El 29 de septiembre de 1978 se establecieron , en la ciudad de París , relaciones diplomáticas , a nivel de Embajadas , entre las Repúblicas de Chile y Gabón ...
^Consolidando una inserción múltiple en el sistema internacional: la política exterior chilena en 1992 (in Spanish). FLACSO, Area de Relaciones Internacionales y Militares. 1993. p. 221.
^See Argentine newspaper Clarín of Buenos Aires, 20 December 1998
^See Alejandro Luis Corbacho "Predicting the probability of war during brinkmanship crisis: The Beagle and the Malvinas conflicts"https://ssrn.com/abstract=1016843 (p.45)
^Parish, Randall R Jr. (2006). "Democrats, Dictators, and Cooperation: the Transformation of Argentine-Chilean Relations". Latin American Politics and Society. 48 (1): 143–174. doi:10.1111/j.1548-2456.2006.tb00341.x. S2CID232396235.
^"Chile". Foreign Relations of the United States. 1905-01-01.
^Parraguez, Maria-Luisa. "Chile's Foreign Policy towards North America". Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ISA's 49th ANNUAL CONVENTION, BRIDGING MULTIPLE DIVIDES, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA (26 March 2008)
^Burr, Robert N. 1955. The Balance of Power in Nineteenth-Century South America: An Exploratory Essay. The Hispanic American Historical Review.
^Palmer, David. "Peru-Ecuador Border Conflict Missed Opportunities, Misplaced Nationalism, and Multilateral Peacekeeping". Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs. ISSN0022-1937.
Rodríguez Elizondo, José: Chile-Perú. El siglo que vivimos en peligro. La Tercera-Mondadori, Santiago, 2004
Parraguez, Maria-Luisa (March 26, 2008). "Chile's Foreign Policy towards North America". Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the ISA's 49th ANNUAL CONVENTION, BRIDGING MULTIPLE DIVIDES, Hilton San Francisco, SAN FRANCISCO, California, USA.