What is our current status with Argentina?

We have a tremendous opportunity to develop economic integration between both countries. Clearly, together we are more than individual entities. We are strong in energy, copper, and lithium, among other things. Together, we become a power in these areas.

On September 15, 2026, the government of President Javier Milei presented its budget for 2027. Obviously, it must be approved by both chambers of the Argentine Congress before becoming law. It is a budget that generally continues to seek fiscal efficiency, one that affects the Armed Forces of that country less, and one that includes an important detail, as it allows the Navy to incur debt of up to $3.5 billion to purchase or build three submarines and two frigates.

Why do I start with the above? Because it indicates that what we see on the other side of the Andes is not just rhetoric. If the Argentine Congress approves the budget, including the ability to incur debt for the purchase of new submarines and frigates, it confirms that Argentina is taking the issue of reacquiring strategic capabilities seriously, and that this is not just about the F-16s they recently acquired, and the upgrading of their armored material, among other things.

Milei is taking seriously his version of MAGA (Make Argentina Great Again) that he announced when he assumed the presidency, something to which they have every sovereign right in the world.

After weeks of misunderstandings triggered by unfortunate statements from Argentine authorities regarding the sovereignty of the Strait of Magellan, and a visit from Milei to Santiago, where a statement was signed basically agreeing on access to mineral and gas resources in exchange for explicit support for the Argentine Malvinas and making our best effort not to support the exploitation of hydrocarbons and fishing resources in the surrounding waters, it is important to understand where we stand, what we can clarify from everything that has happened, and how we should position ourselves for the future:

• Argentina has a long maritime and land border with Chile; that reality will not change. There are pending issues, such as the delimitation in the Southern Ice Fields area and the overlap of the Chilean continental shelf with that of Argentina in the Austral Sea area.
  
• Argentina claims the Malvinas/Falklands, South Sandwich Islands, and South Georgia, and they try to involve us in their problem with the United Kingdom and the islanders. If Chile does so, it is only because it could be advantageous from the perspective of our national interest. Rationality suggests that we should not allow ourselves to be dragged into third-party disputes, but if we do, it is only because it could be to our benefit. What is ultimately at stake is the ownership of Antarctica, the Strait of Magellan, and the Drake Passage.
  
• Argentina recognizes the treaties signed with Chile in 1881 and 1984, which does not mean that it is something that everyone feels and acknowledges in their DNA. Going further south and west is something felt by many, as evidenced by the unfortunate statements from their authorities. It is something we must live with, but for now, it is nothing more than what it is.
  
• Argentina will move forward with the reconstruction of its strategic military, naval, and aerospace capabilities. Its Armed Forces are in a deplorable state, and bringing them to a reasonable condition is something that will only be achieved around 2040—what they are doing is logical and reasonable.
  
• A good relationship with Argentina requires clarity about what our national interest is, along with a deterrent capacity that keeps them concerned and focused on their own issues rather than ours. This requires investments in naval, aerial, and military strategic capabilities, which—let me remind you—will expire by 2040 if nothing is done. For now, we have a very clear superiority, a superiority that I understand the President of the Republic and his Minister of National Defense seek to maintain over time. The peace of the Southern Cone rests on Chile’s superiority and deterrent capacity. It is a formula that has worked since we ceased to be a Spanish colony.
  
• Regardless of all the above, we have a tremendous opportunity to develop economic integration between both countries. Clearly, together we are more than individual entities. We are strong in energy, copper, and lithium, among other things. Together, we become a power in these areas. Having a position in relevant matters for the new economy of AI and digital technology depends on us and our ability to overcome the mutual distrust we have, in mutual respect, and in not coveting what belongs to our neighbor.

RICHARD KOUYOUMDJIAN
Executive Vice President AthenaLab