Peru, which is significant Political Neighbor of Ecuador, is the third largest South American country, which covers a total geographical area of about 1,285,215 sq. km. Peru is situated on the west of South America and is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Columbia. On the east lies Brazil and it has the great Pacific Ocean to the west. It shares important relation with all its bordering neighbors.
Border Dispute between Peru and Ecuador
Ecuador and Peru share a long border that gave rise to border dispute. History says the Peru and its bordering neighbor in the north, Ecuador have long being engaged in serious territorial disputes which are yet to be dissolved.
Reason behind the Dispute
The main reason behind this conflict was Ecuador's claim that its territory should be extended to the Amazon River. The logic behind this was that the Amazon River was discovered by in 1541by Francisco de Orellana. However, this claim of Ecuador was opposed by the Peruvians who refused to support the ground on which Ecuador made such a claim. Peru, on its part, believed that Francisco de Orellana was hired by Gonzalo Pizarro, who began his journey from Cuzco, which is a region in Peru. Thus, this formed the basis of territorial dispute between the two neighboring countries.
Consequences of the Dispute
This was followed by a number of battles being fought between Peru and Ecuador. The three most important battles were fought between the concerned countries in 1941, 1981 and again in 1995.
However, Peace Declaration was signed between Peru and Ecuador in the year 1998 which solved the dispute to certain extent.