Cybersecurity cooperation, defense industry development, and bilateral cooperation in case of natural disasters were some of the topics discussed in three concurrent meetings in Brazil and Chile.
Brazil and Chile signed a mutual support cybersecurity agreement, a strategic area for both countries. Officials signed the August 9th document, in Brasília, Brazil, during the First Brazil-Chile Political-Military Dialogue, also known as Mechanism 2+2, held August 7th-9th.
Chilean service members visited the Brazilian Cyberdefense Command eight times since 2016. According to the Brazilian Ministry of Defense’s Public Affairs Office, Brazilian service members also participated in cybersecurity events in Chile.
The Declaration of Intent on Cybersecurity Cooperation, executed at the end of the meeting, seeks resources to conduct combined professional training and develop research and coordination efforts to fight cyberattack threats against Brazil and Chile. As such, both nations aim to strengthen and increase ongoing initiatives.
Disasters and emergencies
Another topic addressed during the Mechanism 2+2 conference was collaboration in case of disasters and emergencies. “Brazil has vast experience and many resources, just like Chile does, so the collaboration in these areas is certainly progressing,” said Chilean Minister of Defense Alberto Espina.
Chile leads the efforts to draft a cooperation mechanism for humanitarian relief during natural disasters, which countries of the Americas will adopt. “This subject was further discussed at a hemispheric forum, during the Conference of Defense Ministers of the Americas, in Mexico, October 7-10, 2018,” the Brazilian Ministry of Defense’s Public Affairs Office stated.
The signing of the Protocol on Data Exchange and Defense Cataloguing Services was yet another outcome of the event. The document supplements the agreement on defense cooperation Brazil and Chile signed in 2009.
The objective of the protocol is to standardize both nations’ information on defense products, including defense supply and provision, to facilitate trade. The standardization will conform to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Codification System.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Brazilian Defense Minister Joaquim Silva e Luna pointed out that the meeting with Chile consolidates a diplomatic position. “Our defense documents state that Brazil resolves all defense matters through diplomacy. This is plan A for any situation,” the minister said.
From both sides
At the time the ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs of Brazil and Chile met in the Brazilian capital, a delegation of representatives from the Brazilian Armed Forces and government participated in two events in Santiago, Chile: the 10th Chile-Brazil Bilateral Defense Working Group and the 12th Meeting of Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of Chile and Brazil.
Officials addressed cyberdefense and natural disasters in both meetings, along with 10 other topics. The discussions culminated with the signing of 15 agreements on cyberdefense, science and technology and the defense industrial base, peacekeeping operations, defense studies, social programs in support of sports and health, public and private partnerships, impacts of the creation of conservation units, military strategic planning, defense cataloguing, joint doctrine, natural disaster experience exchanges, and joint and combined special operations exercises.
Groundbreaking in the meetings in Chile was the possibility to create a bilateral working subgroup for cyberdefense to extend cooperation. The Chilean Joint Chiefs of Staff also invited the Brazilian Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff to participate in Exercise Southern Winds (Vientos Australes), a Chilean initiative to train troops for emergency situations. The exercise will be held in 2019 or 2020.
Development
The representatives gathered in Chile committed to enable information sharing in the science, technology, and defense industries. Officials also agreed for the Brazilian Ministry of Defense’s Business Bureau to submit visitation proposals to the Chilean Undersecretariat of Defense to increase exchanges of technical capabilities in science, technology, and defense.
According to the Brazilian Ministry of Defense, Brazil and Chile are long-lasting strategic partners whose friendship strengthened thanks to the two bilateral meetings and “improves the relationships between the military, the ministries of Defense, and therefore, between the two countries, benefitting both sides.”