Chile has never urged the publication of new maps modifying the maritime border with Peru, Chile's deputy foreign minister said Monday in response to an article published in Peru's Sunday press.
The article, written by Peruvian writer Alvaro Vargas Llosa, quoted Peruvian Foreign Minister Jose Garcia Belaunde as saying that Chilean officials had suggested the publication of a new map.
"I absolutely deny the reports," Chilean Deputy Foreign Minister Alberto van Kalveren told the media. "Chile was never a party to the publication of these maps. It is absurd to suppose otherwise."
Peru published a revised map on Aug. 12, triggering Chile's recall of its ambassador to Peru and the cancellation of a Chilean legislative visit to Peru.
Chile defeated Peru in the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific and seized a chunk of mineral-rich territory from its northern neighbor.
The current sea border, a horizontal line that starts close to the two countries' land border and cuts due west across the ocean, was set in the 1950s. Peru's proposed border is a southwestern sloping line that follows the two countries' diagonal border into the Pacific Ocean.
"We have always viewed the publication of such maps as extremely negative and that the effect of this would be very negative for bilateral relations," van Kalveren said.
Source: Xinhua
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