The dispute over the extended continental shelf in the Southern Zone Sea between Argentina and Chile is a disagreement between the two countries over a maritime area of 5,302 km2 that began after Argentina attempted to extend its maritime space based on the theory of the extended continental shelf over the Southern Zone Sea (),The 1984 Treaty says about the maritime border: Artículo 7°. El límite entre las respectivas soberanías sobre el mar, suelo y subsuelo de la República Argentina y de la República de Chile en el Mar de la Zona Austral a partir del término de la delimitación existente en el Canal Beagle,... south of Point F as agreed in the 1984 treaty, in an area claimed by Chile as part of its "presential sea", and now as part of its continental shelf (not extended) projected from the Diego Ramírez Islands.

Previously, Argentina claimed the overlapping "crescent-shaped" area as a "heritage protection sea". For its part, Chile has understood that marine continental shelves should prevail over extended continental shelves, a position supported by the interpretation presented by the International Court of Justice in its 2023 ruling on the delimitation of the continental shelf in the context of the Colombia-Nicaragua case.

The dispute also involves both countries' projections towards the Antarctic continent. Under the terms of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Article 59 disputed and overlapping claims have no legal force until the dispute is resolved between the opposing parties.

UNCLOS is an advisory commission that makes recommendations which are not legally binding, and the commission has no jurisdiction over sovereignty issues.

History The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of April 30, 1982, which entered into force on November 16, 1994, established the regime of the continental shelf in Part VI (Articles 76 to 85), defining in Article 76, paragraph 1 what is understood as a continental shelf.

Argentina ratified the convention on January 12, 1995, and it came into force for the country on December 31, 1995.

On August 25, 1997, Chile signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and it entered into force for the country on September 24, 1997.

In 2009, Argentina submitted a presentation to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which was accepted in 2016 by the UNCLOS. The map in the submission included the disputed territories with the United Kingdom, such as the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and South Sandwich Islands, a crescent-shaped area south of Argentina's territorial sea as defined in the 1984 treaty with Chile. This area was also claimed by Chile as part of its presential sea, and the sea surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula, which is claimed by all three aforementioned countries. That same year, on May 8, Chile submitted its Preliminary Report to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

In 2020, the Argentine Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved the outer limit of the Argentine Continental Shelf in Law 27,557.

That same year, on December 21, Chile submitted to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf the partial report on the extended continental shelf in Easter Island and Salas y Gómez.

In 2021, Chilean President Sebastián Piñera signed Supreme Decree No. 95, which outlined the continental shelf east of the 67º 16' 0 meridian as part of Chile's continental shelf (not the extended one) area projected from the Diego Ramírez Islands, also claiming the crescent area that Argentina considers part of its extension achieved under the extended continental shelf principle. This was reflected in the SHOA Chart No. 8 and prompted a response from the Argentine Foreign Ministry against Chile's measure.

In February 2022, Chile submitted its second partial presentation regarding the Western Continental Shelf of the Chilean Antarctic Territory. In August of the same year, Chile made the oral presentations of both partial submissions during the 55th Session of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf at the United Nations in New York.

In 2023, Chile, through SHOA, made available an illustrative graphic showing all the maritime areas claimed by the country, which was once again rejected by Argentina.

In July 2023, the International Court of Justice ruled on the priority of a Continental Shelf over an Extended Continental Shelf in the case of the territorial and maritime dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua.

Background

Formulas for measuring the outer edge of the continental margin

Criteria in cases of disputed maritime territories

See also Continental shelf Extended continental shelf United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Continental Shelf of Chile Chilean Sea Argentine Sea Beagle conflict Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina Southern Patagonian Ice Field dispute

References