Relationship dossier
Chile
United Kingdom
Relationship assessment
Substantive trade and security ties, with a significant historical diplomatic strain over Augusto Pinochet.
Chile toward United Kingdom
+30Chile provided intelligence assistance to the United Kingdom during the 1982 Falklands War and has participated in bilateral economic and defence cooperation, including under the trade framework with the United Kingdom.
United Kingdom toward Chile
+25The United Kingdom has maintained a bilateral trade framework and defence cooperation with Chile. British authorities' 1998 detention of Augusto Pinochet, however, generated a serious dispute with the Chilean government.
Overall relationship
+30The relationship has a durable basis in trade and defence cooperation, alongside a notable historical episode of diplomatic friction over Pinochet's detention in the United Kingdom. These features support an overall picture of substantive but not uniformly close relations.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Chile and the United Kingdom have maintained substantive economic and political engagement, including a bilateral trade agreement and cooperation in areas such as defence. Chile also provided intelligence assistance to the United Kingdom during the 1982 Falklands War. Relations experienced a notable strain when British authorities detained Augusto Pinochet in 1998, an episode that prompted strong objections from Chile.
Areas of tension
- The British detention of Augusto Pinochet in 1998 and the resulting objections from the Chilean government.
Key developments
Chile provided intelligence assistance to the United Kingdom during the Falklands War.
The United Kingdom and Chile signed a bilateral trade agreement.
British authorities detained Augusto Pinochet, prompting strong objections from Chile.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of current bilateral cooperation beyond trade and defence are unclear.
- The lasting effect of the Pinochet detention episode on later bilateral policy is uncertain.