Peru protests against Chile's new definition of territory

The Peruvian government on Friday lodged a protest with Chile against a decision by the Chilean Congress to redefine its territory, which alters the border between the two countries.

The Peruvian Foreign Ministry said Chilean lawmakers had approved a law to set up the Arica and Parinacota region that does not respect the agreed territorial demarcation and takes 19,000 square meters of land away from Peru's Tacna department.

The Chilean government has submitted a plan of the controversial demarcation to the Constitutional Court as a preliminary step to enact the law.

According to the Peruvian government, the issue stems from a maritime disagreement, in which Chile uses the parallel line to establish its maritime frontier.

Santiago has argued that the frontier is not a coastal site called Concordia, but on boundary stone No. 1 located to the northeast and 200 meters inland.

This means that between 19,000 and 35,000 square meters of Tacna's land will be included in what Chile considers a new region "without respecting the Concordia demarcation," said the Peruvian Foreign Ministry.

Peruvian President Alan Garcia has recalled his ambassador to Chile, Hugo Otero, to Lima to discuss the case, which renews a discussion on the issue of the maritime boundary between the two countries.

Peru has claimed about 40,000 square kilometers of ocean for more than 50 years.

Source: Xinhua