Beagle Channel dispute

Abstract

Abstract: Both Chile and Argentina declared their independence from Spain early in the nineteenth century (Argentina in 1816 and Chile in 1818). The legal status of Patagonia, far away from the centers of power at the time, was soon disputed between both countries. In 1881, Chile and Argentina signed a boundary treaty. It established the Andes as the border between both countries, split Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego into a Chilean and an Argentinian side and established Chilean sovereignty over the islands south of the Beagle Channel. In addition, Tierra del Fuego was to be demilitarized and general freedom of navigation was to be permitted to all vessels through the Strait of Magellan. The Beagle channel dispute has two important characteristics that separate it from other Argentinian and Chilean border disputes. It deals with a maritime border, something that negotiators of the 1881 Treaty did not envision at the time. It deals with a maritime border in the context of the negotiations of the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973–1982). It is a dispute that entails direct negotiations, arbitration, and a Pontifical mediation.