What would be NATO’s role in the dispute between Argentina and Chile?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In the context of the controversy between Argentina and Chile over the control of a maritime zone in the American South Atlantic, Argentine researcher Walter Formento talked to GPS International to analyze the possible implications of extra-zone powers in the diplomatic dispute.

The Argentine government sent a note of protest to the Chilean government. It rejects its expansive vocation to annex as its own a part of the continental shelf of some 5,000 square kilometers.

In this regard, “it is important to understand that Piñera’s government urgently needs to produce facts that focus attention on his figure, given the process of Chilean institutional change”, he indicated. The president is losing the capacity to govern, he added.

Chile’s move comes in the midst of an adverse political climate for Piñera.

Therefore, “the political changes in Chile have overshadowed and weakened the president,” said Formento. At the same time, due to the interests expressed by Piñera and the political sector he represents, “a conflict with Argentina is being sought, which will allow NATO to deploy military-technical resources and strengthen its presence in Malvinas,” he asserted.

In this regard, “this is happening at a time when these sectors are losing power throughout the Asia Pacific and the Chinese area of influence,” he said.

As a result of the development of new technologies leading to greater demands for resources, “this area is becoming increasingly important in terms of mineral, fishing, and strategic resources, as well as in terms of the oceanic passage,” he said.

In this context, “we are facing a preventive measure by NATO to accumulate forces against the different actors that make up the multipolar of the BRICS and the new multipolar trends in the world,” he concluded.