Landlocked Country in South America Sues Neighbor to Get Coastline Back
A mural in San Pablo de Tiquina, Bolivia reads “What once was ours, will be ours once again”, and “Hold fast, rotos [Chileans], for here come the Colorados of Bolivia.” (Photo: Dentren/Wikipedia)
There are 48 landlocked countries in the world. Here are a few: Switzerland, Zimbabwe and Armenia — all these have no access to the world’s oceans.
And Uzbekistan is a cool case, it is entirely surrounded by other landlocked countries.
There are no landlocked nations in North America, but South America has two and those are the two countries we want you to name as part of the Geo Quiz.
One of those countries is in the news this week as it lost its coastal territory as a result of a treaty it signed at the end of the 19th century War of the Pacific.
Bolivia and Paraguay are the answers to the Geo Quiz.
Bolivia is hoping to regain the Pacific coastline it once had through a lawsuit. The lack of access to the sea remains a sore issue there, and now it is suing neighboring Chile to get its coastline back. It also appointed an ambassador this week to make its case before the International Court of Justice in the Hague.
Anchor Marco Werman talks to BBC Mundo reporter Veronica Smink, who has been looking at this long-standing sea access dispute.
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