Terrestrial Triangle

  • Contested territories
  • Controlled by Chile
  • Claimed by Peru
  • Territorial dispute since 1883
  • Size 40,000 m²

The Terrestrial Triangle is a territory of four hectares, located between the city of Arica (Chile) and Tacna (Peru). It is a left-over piece of land from the disputed triangle in the sea, and it preserves the mines that the Chilean Army placed in the seventies. It was formed as a result of the problems faced by the engineers who placed the border markers in the 1930s. Administered by Chile since 1929, Peru has claimed sovereignty over the triangle and its coasts. The International Court of Justice of The Hague confirmed in 2014 that the territory is in dispute, and indicated that it was up to the President of the United States to resolve the issue as arbitrator of the boundary treaty of the two countries.

Link Terrestrial Triangle

The Maritime Dispute Between Peru and Chile

On 27 January 2014, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its judgment on the maritime boundary dispute between Peru and Chile. The Court had to determine first whether a maritime boundary existed between Peru and Chile. If so, then it also had to consider the nature and extent of the boundary. An essay by Dan Anton, Professor of Law at the Australian National University College of Law.

E-International Relations | 18 Mar 2014

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Taiwan

Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a de facto island state in the East Chinese Sea. The People’s Republic of China has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and refuses diplomatic relations with any country that recognizes this republic. Taiwan is the 22nd-largest economy in the world, and its high-tech industry plays a key role in the global economy, it is unrecognized by most member states of the United Nations. Still, many countries maintain unofficial ties with Taiwan through representative offices and institutions that function as de facto embassies and consulates.

Essequibo

Essequibo is a disputed region that makes up two thirds of the country Guyana, a coastal republic in Latin America between Venezuela, Brazil and Surinam. The area is rich with oil and gold. Recently, Venezuela has threatened to annex the region up to the river Essequibo and claim it as Guayana Esequiba. In December 2023 Nicolas Maduro, president of Venezuela, organized a referendum to seek support for annexation. The dispute stretches back to the colonial powers that once held this region: Spain (Venezuela) and the Netherlands and the United Kingdom (Guyana). In an 1899 international arbitration the territory Essequibo was assigned to Guyana, yet Venezuela claims there have been procedural mistakes and the arbitration should therefore be dismissed.

Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia

The Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia is the last remnant of an attempt to create a kingdom for the Mapuche people, the indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. Founded in 1860 by the French adventurer Antoine de Tounens, it intended to enlist the support of Napoleon III to create a vassal kingdom of France in Patagonia. In 1862 Antoine de Tounens was imprisoned and declared insane by the Supreme Court of Chile. He was expelled back to France and the Criminal Court of Paris ruled that Antoine de Tounens, first King of Araucania and Patagonia, did not justify his claim to the status of sovereignty of his kingdom. He died in poverty without any real successors. After his death many tried to conquer the kingdom, mainly as a way to sell stamps, the loss of the claim is seen as a lost opportunity by the Mapuche, who aim to get their land back via this lost kingdom.