World court awards Peru swathe of Chile’s fish-rich sea

Peru’s agent and Ambassador, Allan Wagner, left, smiles after the World Court delivered its ruling in the case between Peru and Chile in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday Jan. 27, 2014. The United Nations’ highest court has drawn a new maritime boundary between Peru and Chile, awarding Peru parts of the Pacific Ocean but keeping rich coastal fishing grounds in Chilean hands. AP PHOTO/PETER DEJONG

THE HAGUE—Lima cried victory Monday after the UN’s top court handed it a wedge of sea under Chilean sovereignty, but Peruvian fishermen nevertheless said they gained nothing from the historic ruling.

Peru said it drew “satisfaction” from the world court’s ruling in which it was handed a part of the fish-rich Pacific Ocean, claimed by Chile since the early 1950s, but its southern neighbor slammed the decision.

The Hague-based International Court of Justice confirmed Chile’s sovereignty over waters up to 80 nautical miles (92 land miles, 148 kilometres) from the coast but handed Lima a large swathe of less lucrative ocean beyond that limit.

In Lima, Peruvians who watched the judgment on giant screens in the city’s historic center shouted “Viva Peru!” as the outcome became apparent.

“We have won more than 70 percent of our entire demand,” Peru’s President Ollanta Humala said.

“This ruling will be adhered to and respected by Peru and we are confident that Chile will similarly abide by it,” he added.

But Peruvian fisherman slapped down the victory, saying the territory won in the ruling “did nothing to benefit the region.”

“Tacna (a city in southern Peru) lost with this decision,” David Patino of a Peruvian’s fisherman’s association said.

Both Lima and Santiago said before Monday that they would respect the ruling from the ICJ, which handles disputes between countries.

‘Lamentable loss’

Chile’s President Sebastian Pinera called the ICJ’s decision “a lamentable loss for our country.”

“While Chile maintains in full its freedom of maritime and air navigation in this zone, without a doubt this transfer is a lamentable loss for our country,” Pinera said in Santiago.

Chilean fishermen voiced disappointment at the ruling but played down its impact.

“This is a bad decision, but not as bad as what we expected,” said a Chilean fisherman from Arica, in the north of the country.

“This is because the government prepared a good defense,” the fisherman said.

Analysts said that Chile had lost little as its fishermen rarely venture farther than 40 nautical miles from the coast.

After six years of legal wrangling, ICJ judges changed the maritime boundaries that Chile had claimed since the early 1950s, in what they described as an “equitable” solution to a dispute dating back to the 1879 War of the Pacific.

Peru dragged Chile to court in 2008, saying their border in the Pacific Ocean was unclear and accusing Chile of appropriating its territory.

Peru claimed sovereignty over a 38,000-square-kilometer (around 15,000-square-mile) fish-rich patch of the Pacific controlled by Chile as well as 27,000 square kilometers that Santiago classifies as “high seas.”

Judges drew a line from a point 80 nautical miles off Chile’s northern border running southwest into the Pacific until it reached almost 200 nautical miles of Chile’s coast, handing Peru the part of the ocean north of the line.

“The Court has defined the course of the maritime boundary between the parties without determining the precise geographical coordinates,” Judge Peter Tomka told delegates representing the two South American neighbors, calling the decision an “equitable solution.”

Lima and Santiago have had strained relations stemming from the border dispute.

The 19th-century War of the Pacific redefined the two countries’ borders, with Peru losing 25 percent of its territory and Bolivia losing access to the sea.

Established in 1945, the ICJ is the UN’s highest court and settles disputes between states.—Jan Hennop