Territorial disputes involving Argentina
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This is a list of hostile incidents at the Argentine border. This timeline does not include events from the 1982
Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...
, nor the 1978 peak of the Beagle crisis with Chile. It should be note that Argentina's use of force against Chile and the United Kingdom has been the exception rather than the rule, and some of the hostile acts or armed incidents appear to have been caused by zealous local commanders, and not as the result of a widespread strategy. Most of the naval incidents involve illegal fishing boats predating squids and fish species outside exploitation seasons and allowed seizing by the Argentine law in Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone waters.


Incidents

; 9 June 1958 : The
Argentine Navy The Argentine Navy (ARA; es, Armada de la República Argentina). This forms the basis for the navy's ship prefix "ARA". is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with th ...
destroyer ARA ''San Juan'' shelled and destroyed a Chilean lighthouse in the unpopulated Snipe islet in the
Beagle Channel Beagle Channel (; Yahgan: ''Onašaga'') is a strait in the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, on the extreme southern tip of South America between Chile and Argentina. The channel separates the larger main island of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego f ...
, during the Snipe incident. ; 6 November 1965 : The Argentine Gendarmerie shot and killed Chilean Carabineros' Lieutenant Hernán Merino Correa during the Laguna del Desierto incident. ; 28 September 1966 : A group of 18 Argentine nationalist militants hijacked a civilian Aerolineas Argentinas aircraft whilst flying over
Puerto Santa Cruz Puerto Santa Cruz is a town and municipality in Santa Cruz Province in southern Argentina.Ministerio del Interior
I ...
and forced the captain at gunpoint to land in the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...
, where they took several civilians hostage. The crisis was resolved 36 hours later when the hijackers agreed to release their hostages and return to Argentina for trial. ; October 1966 : Forces of the
Tactical Divers Group The Tactical Divers Group ( es, Agrupación de Buzos Tácticos, APBT) is the premier special operations force of the Argentine Navy. The Buzos Tácticos are based at Base Naval Mar del Plata (BNMP) on the Atlantic coast of Argentina. Its men ...
conducted covert landings in the Falklands from the submarine . ; 29 November 1967 : The was shelled by the from
Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's souther ...
's harbour. ; 24 June 1968 : The Argentine destroyer ARA ''Santa Cruz'' found the Soviet trawlers ''Pavlovo'' and ''Golfstrim'' fishing in Argentine territorial waters. ''Pavlovo'' managed to slip away, but ''Golfstrim'' was hit by two 40 mm rounds fired by the destroyer and captured. The fishing vessel was escorted to
Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a sh ...
, where she was released on 9 July after paying a $ 25,000 fine. ; 4 February 1976 : The Argentine destroyer fired warning shots at the British research ship . ; 3–4 October 1977 : The Argentine Navy shelled and captured the Soviet trawler ''Prokopyevsk'' and the Bulgarians ''Ofelia'' and ''Aurelia'' off
Puerto Madryn Puerto Madryn (; cy, Porth Madryn), also known as ''Madryn'', is a city in the province of Chubut in Argentine Patagonia. It is the capital of the Viedma Department, and has about 93,995 inhabitants according to the last census in 2010. Puer ...
. Three Argentine seamen died from drowning and one Bulgarian sailor was wounded. ; 19 October 1984 : According to the Chilean Ministry of Defense, the
Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( es, Ejército Argentino, EA) is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the comman ...
fired eight artillery rounds at a Chilean lighthouse at Punta Gusanos, near Puerto Williams. ;28 May 1986 : The Argentine patrol vessel shelled and sunk the Taiwanese trawler ''Chian-der 3''. Two Taiwanese fishermen were killed; four others were injured. ; 5 July 1991 : The British trawler ''Pict'', which had been part of the British Task Force in the Falklands War as an auxiliary minesweeper, was captured by the patrol boat , from the
Argentine Naval Prefecture The Argentine Naval Prefecture ( es, Prefectura Naval Argentina or PNA) is a service of Argentina's Security Ministry charged with protecting the country's rivers and maritime territory. It therefore fulfills the functions of other countries' coa ...
.Buques Pesqueros extranjeros capturados por los Guardacostas Clase "Halcón" de la PNA (1985–2020)
by Mariano Agostini
; 1995 :According to British reports, the Argentine corvette ARA ''Granville'' harassed seven trawlers around Falklands waters and illuminated RFA ''Diligence'' with her radar. ; 5 February 2000 : The Argentine corvette shelled and captured the Taiwanese trawler ''Hou Chun 101 ''off San Jorge Gulf. ; 12 June 2002 : The Argentine Naval Prefecture's patrol boat shelled and damaged the Russian squid trawler ''Odoyevsk ''off Puerto Madryn. ; 11 February 2004 : The Argentine corvette shelled and sunk the Taiwanese trawler ''Jim Chin Tsai ''off Comodoro Rivadavia. ; 15 March 2004 : The icebreaker entered a maritime area designated as conservation zones under the jurisdiction of the
Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...
and issued demands for other ships to identify themselves. ; 20 February 2006 : The British squid trawler ''John Cheek ''was seized by the patrol boat from the Argentine Naval Prefecture. ; 14 March 2016 : The Argentine patrol vessel shelled and sunk the illegal Chinese fishing trawler '' Lu Yan Yuan Yu 010'' after the ship refused to obey in a 4-hour pursuit and attempted to ram the patrol vessel, all 32 crew members were rescued.


Footnotes

{{Territorial disputes involving Argentina Incidents Foreign relations of Argentina International maritime incidents Maritime incidents in Argentina Political history of Argentina Territorial disputes of Argentina