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references there to a “frontier” and a “frontier line”. And, as for Chile’s proposal, he said that although this referred to the “Chile-Peru frontier”, “this made no reference to a maritime boundary previously established”141. 24. Well, what did Chile refer to if not the maritime boundary? Is Peru suggesting that Chile proposed that fishermen be allowed to fish 50 miles on either side of the boundary on land? Was this a negotiation about fishermen of crabs? Or is Peru suggesting that the term “frontier” meant not an existing frontier, but a hypothetical frontier or a yet-to-be-agreed frontier? 25. Whatever Peru may suggest — and perhaps we will find out next week — the point, again, is simple: Why did it take Peru 52 years to query the term “frontier” when its neighbour asserted that there was one at the time?
D. The Parties’ sovereign control of their maritime zones confirms the existence of their maritime boundary 26. I turn next to the practice regarding the limits of the maritime zones in which each of the Parties exercises sovereign control. The important point here is that both Chile and Peru have applied parallels of latitude as limits to divide their navies’ areas of responsibility; and, in doing so, both Chile and Peru have respected the boundary parallel. Diagrams on your screens will illustrate the position, and I will start with Peru. The complete picture may be found at tab 74 in your folders. [Slide] 27. Peru created a coastguard within its navy in 1969. Its mission is to control Peru’s “jurisdictional waters”142. Peru’s waters were then sub-divided into areas of responsibility for local units, as you see illustrated. Under a Supreme Decree of 1987143, each such area is bounded by two parallels of latitude and is called a Maritime District. The navy is charged there with a wide range of responsibilities. These include, in particular: (i) controlling traffic and safety of navigation; (ii) monitoring safety of human life;
141
RC, 2012/28, p. 38, para. 49 (Wood).
142
MP, Vol. II, Ann. 14, p. 61, Art. 1.
143
RC, Vol. III, Ann. 90, pp. 557-558, Art. A-020301.