Locational Boundary Dispute Example: Chile vs. Argentina (Beagle Channel)

A classic locational boundary dispute: Chile and Argentina contested sovereignty over the Beagle Channel islands (Picton, Lennox, Nueva) from the 19th century.

Tensions peaked in 1978—near war—before papal mediation produced the 1984 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, awarding the islands to Chile while granting Argentina navigation rights.

Locational disputes center on where the line falls on the ground (vs. definitional or operational disputes). The Beagle case involved interpreting an 1881 treaty's ambiguous geography in a remote, island-strewn channel.