Senator Rodolfo Carter warned that Chile could face a major incident with Argentina in a couple of weeks. Carter chairs the National Defense Budget Subcommittee. The trigger is the cargo ship scheduled to sail from Punta Arenas to the Falkland Islands on November 10.
The remarks appeared in an interview with Ex-Ante, which T13 shared. According to the senator, most of Chile's political class is overlooking the risk. He described the crisis as a conflict that was "announced, announced over and over, announced again".
Carter said Argentina had already threatened Chile through formal and informal channels. He mentioned the Argentine foreign minister, senior officers in Argentina's Armed Forces and institutions such as the Navy League. In his view, Buenos Aires has ambitions in both oceans and seeks to isolate Punta Arenas commercially.
The senator bases his position on Article 10 of the 1984 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. That agreement, signed after the Beagle crisis, establishes that the Strait of Magellan is Chilean and guarantees free passage through both entrances.
Argentina maintains that it respects the treaties. However, Carter alleges a "mistaken interpretation" of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. According to him, that reading would allow Argentina to assess whether a vessel's passage is "non-innocent" and, on that basis, fine or seize it.
For Carter, a seizure would open the door to what analyst Rodríguez Elizondo calls "the unthinkable": a physical conflict with Argentina. He therefore called for firm action now and urged that "no further outbursts" be tolerated. He specifically criticized the Argentine foreign minister's statement that actions have consequences.
The senator denied seeking "military adventures" and defended a credible military deterrent. He maintained that Chile "still" holds a superior military position. He added that the country needs to renew its weaponry to preserve that advantage.
Carter said he had discussed the issue with government officials, who, according to him, consider it "very complex". He did not specify what measures the executive branch is considering. In other published reports, Minister Daniel Mas, who heads two ministries, backed the route and described it as a business arrangement between private parties that the state should only oversee. Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, by contrast, said Chile had agreed not to provide logistical support to the islands.
The senator also raised other outstanding issues. He mentioned Argentina's claim to an extended continental shelf reaching Antarctica, where the interests of the United Kingdom, Argentina and Chile overlap. He also mentioned the unresolved demarcation of the Ice Fields. Nevertheless, he insisted that the urgent issue is the departure on November 10.
