According to El Mostrador, Minister of Economy and Mining Daniel Mas backed the possible reopening of a trade route between Punta Arenas and the Falkland Islands on Sunday. He did so on TVN's Estado Nacional program, despite objections from Javier Milei's Argentine government.
"We welcome any trade by Chileans. If it needs to be done with the Falklands, and it can be done, let it be done," Mas said. The minister insisted that the maritime connection is a private initiative.
Asked about the risks to the economy of Magallanes, Mas compared the situation to mining projects in border areas. "You always take risks," he said, adding that operating agreements are needed, as is the case with Argentina and Peru.
On La Moneda's role, he was brief. According to the minister, the government's responsibility is to safeguard sovereignty and set clear rules. "There is nothing more to it," he said, reiterating that "it is a business venture between private parties."
The episode began in Punta Arenas. In late September, around 40 public and private sector representatives from the islands arrived in the regional capital for the Punta Arenas Business Showroom. The business matchmaking event, promoted by Mayor Claudio Radonich, sought to strengthen ties with businesspeople from Magallanes and restore a maritime connection with the archipelago.
The Falklands are administered by the United Kingdom, but Argentina claims sovereignty over them and the surrounding maritime areas. That dispute explains Buenos Aires' reaction.
On September 29, Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said Chile had committed to preventing its territory from being used to provide logistical support for the exploitation of natural resources on the islands. Quirno said his government expected compliance with existing treaties and commitments.
The foreign minister also responded to Chilean Defense Minister Fernando Barros. Barros had reiterated Chile's support for Argentina's claim but acknowledged that the United Kingdom currently controls the territory. He also argued that a solution should consider the islanders' wishes. "A president's word overrides a minister's word. That's it, it ends there," Quirno replied.
The reference was to the September 3 meeting between Presidents José Antonio Kast and Javier Milei. There, Kast reiterated Chilean support for Argentina's sovereign rights over the Falklands, South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and their waters, and encouraged peaceful negotiations between Buenos Aires and London.
That joint declaration also reaffirmed the treaties of 1881 and 1984, which establish Chilean sovereignty over the entire Strait of Magellan. The text sought to settle the controversy sparked in August by the chief of the Argentine Air Force General Staff, Brigadier General Gustavo Javier Valverde, who said: "Magallanes, the south, the Drake Passage, all of that is sovereignty."
For Magallanes, the debate has concrete consequences. Businesspeople in the region see a commercial opportunity with the islands. However, the government will have to reconcile it with the commitment Argentina attributes to Kast. The source provides no dates or operator for the possible maritime route.
