LA PAZ (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th October, 2020) Bolivia will continue its effort to regain access to the Pacific Ocean, President-elect Luis Arce said in an interview with Sputnik.
"We will continue to follow our policy. We are going to continue to implement all the strategies towards restoring free and sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean," Arce said.
The long-standing territorial dispute between Bolivia and Chile about access to the Pacific Ocean dates back to the nineteenth century. Bolivia lost the coast Department of Litoral (now known as the Antofagasta region) in 1884 as a result of losing the War of the Pacific (also known as the Saltpeter War). Bolivia has sought regaining access to the Pacific Ocean since 2013. In 2015, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague rejected Chile's request to stop the consideration of Bolivia's access to the ocean. In 2018, the ICJ ruled that the arguments presented by Bolivia with reference to bilateral agreements did not create a legally binding obligation for Chile to negotiate access to the Pacifier Ocean.
