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Bolivia says not to intervene in Peru-Chile maritime controversy

11 November 2010 04:02 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Bolivia won’t interfere in the maritime controversy between Chile and Peru, which should be resolved at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, APA reports quoting news.xinhuanet.com website.

In a statement, the ministry said Bolivia won’t interfere in affairs concerning other countries, and would say something only when the sentence affects Bolivia.

"It is not that we are not concerned or that we are not interested, but we do not have to interfere because it is an issue between two countries, which deserves respect for their decisions and sovereignty," Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca said.

He added that Bolivia would follow the case to see whether this situation affects Bolivia.

Both Chile and Peru are claiming zones around Concordia, a coastal area close to their borders. The disputed waters are important fishing grounds.

Chile believes that the maritime borderline has been demarcated in agreements from 1952 and 1954, but Peru insists the deals are only informal fishing agreements.

In 2008, Peru asked the ICJ to decide which country has the rights over the territory that it considers within 200 miles of its coast, after several attempts to negotiate with Chile had failed.

The controversy is also relevant to Bolivia as since 1979, the country has been seeking a sea outlet it lost during a war between 1879 and 1883.