RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Chilean Navy and the Argentine Navy held a coordination meeting in the city of Punta Arenas to finalize the last details of the planning of the Viekaren 2022 exercise to be carried out between August 15 and 21 in the waters of the Beagle Channel.
Viekaren is a combined naval exercise agreed upon between both institutions in 1999, allowing to verify the level of interoperability of Chilean and Argentine naval units to safeguard human life in an area of high maritime traffic.
In this activity, work is carried out in fictitious scenarios in emergencies such as rescues, maritime salvage, or environmental disasters; it also fosters good bilateral relations, reaffirming the commitment to participative collaboration and standardizing procedures.
MUTUAL KNOWLEDGE
The meeting was chaired by the Commander-in-Chief of the Third Naval Zone of the Chilean Navy, Rear Admiral Fernando Borcoski, and the Commander of the Southern Naval Area of Argentina, Rear Admiral Walter Ernesto Doná, who signed the minutes corresponding to the planning of Viekaren 2022.
The Commander of the Beagle Naval District of the Chilean Navy, Captain Cristian Yáñez, pointed out that this version “has the particularity that it will resume this combined training between the Chilean and Argentine Navies, after three years.”
“It is also an opportunity to intensify the traditional ties between our navies, especially with the friendships that are developing between the members of our crews”.
The officer said that the exercise, which will take place next month, “will undoubtedly contribute to ensuring that coordination will be facilitated by mutual knowledge and combined operation in any situation requiring combined action, particularly concerning safeguarding life at sea. Let us hope that Viekaren 2022 will be a success.”
TRUST
The Viekaren exercise, a word that means trust in the Yámana language, is an activity framed within the agreements of the Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1984 to promote good relations between Chile and Argentina.
In the naval field, the first exercise carried out by both institutions under this new framework was Integración in 1998, which brought together surface and air units in Chilean waters to achieve greater interoperability.
The second activity was Viekaren, which has been carried out since 2000, and its objective is to increase the degree of confidence in joint operations, exchange knowledge in different procedures between naval units and troops, as well as to improve the response capacity to various emergencies that may arise in the Beagle Channel.
Another initiative is the Combined Antarctic Naval Patrol (PANC), carried out for the first time in the southern summer of 1999-2000 and whose purpose is to safeguard life at sea, protect the marine environment and provide mutual support to face emergencies on the white continent.
With information from InfoDefensa