the cabinet of Chili is in the middle of a scandal after the audio of a private meeting between the chancellor of the southern nation and the secretary of International Policy was leaked to the press. Now, new information emerged regarding which ship the politician was referring to in his comments —which criticized Rafael Bielsa’s position due to the rejection of the Executive Power to the mining project, Dominga.
Source: (T13)
“I am going to tell Bielsa that I remind him about the English ship. That this is a gesture, ”said the politician of the trans-Andean nation in a repressive way. This vehicle is the HMS Forth, from Great Britain, which was going to be part of Exponaval 2022, but which, after a request from the Argentine Foreign Ministry to Chili, it was not allowed to dock at the local docks. A clear sign of support from the Boric government for the conflict over the sovereignty of the Malvinas.
According to information shared by Clarín, “Chili had an order from the UK for a UK vessel to be serviced at a local shipyard. The Chilean government decided to accept our request to comply with the commitment they have not to provide logistics to British military vessels or aircraft headed for or destined for the Malvinas”. “It is a commitment assumed in the regional spheres that have always respected it,” the Argentine government sources told the local newspaper.
After the leak, the chancellor of the neighboring nation He apologized to the Argentine ambassador, whom he had previously called to challenge him for his statements about the Dominga mining project. “This venture was one of the alternatives that Agua Negra was going to have as a port. It would be great for us if they warned us, nothing more than that. As it has an impact on bilateral relations, we wanted you to be informed“, was what the Argentine had commented at the time, who ironized: “Five species of animals woke up jumping today because they are not going to disappear.”
Chilean discontent
But the Argentine government is not the only one that is angry with these leaks, but also within the same Chili they find this situation very complex and feel that it could ruin relations with the UK.
“For me it is nonsense because we have four English-made ships, the foundation of the national Navy was through Lord Cochrane and our relationship with the United Kingdom is celebrating 200 years.” complained Juan Pablo Toroexecutive director of Athena Lab, a group that does international consultancies.
