See also \/ Government Approves Participation of Israeli State-Owned Military Company in FIDAE 2026, Sparking Concerns Over Shift in Foreign Policy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nWhile Russia was excluded in 2022 due to its invasion of Ukraine, and Israeli companies faced restrictions in 2024 due to the situation in Gaza, the current administration is overturning this stance without providing new legal justification for its differential treatment. The state-owned status of IAI\u2014highlighted by a 2025 UN Special Rapporteur report identifying it as a \u201cstate-owned\u201d enterprise integrated into the Israeli military apparatus\u2014exacerbates this contradiction, as Chile ends up facilitating the promotion of an entity that is a structural part of an occupying state declared unlawful by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July 2024.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\nInternational Disalignment: Chile Stands Apart While Europe Closes Doors<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nIAI\u2019s presence at FIDAE 2026 places Chile in stark disalignment from the recent practices of Western democracies. Since 2023, countries such as France (Eurosatory 2024), Spain (FEINDEF 2025), the Netherlands (NEDS 2025), and the United Kingdom (DSEI 2025) have restricted or outright excluded Israeli companies from their major defense exhibitions. Beyond exhibitions, nations like Germany, Italy, Canada, and Belgium have halted new arms exports to Israel or blocked critical components (like the Netherlands with F-35 parts) due to legitimate concerns that they might be used in Gaza in violation of International Humanitarian Law. \u201cCompanies that send weapons, parts, components, or ammunition to Israel risk being complicit in serious violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law,\u201d<\/strong> warned United Nations experts in June 2024. In this context, the Chilean decision not only ignores these warnings but also projects an image of normative exceptionality that undermines the country\u2019s credibility in multilateral forums.<\/p>\nIAI Under UN Scrutiny: Profitable Genocide and Testing Grounds in Gaza<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nThe focus on IAI does not derive from non-governmental organizations, but from an official United Nations document from 2025. The Special Rapporteur\u2019s report explicitly identifies IAI among the corporate entities sustaining the \u201ceconomy of occupation, apartheid, and genocide.\u201d The text states emphatically that for Israeli companies like IAI and Elbit Systems,<\/strong> the \u201congoing genocide\u201d has proven to be a lucrative business,<\/strong> linking the increase in Israeli military spending between 2023 and 2024 to a sharp rise in their profits. Additionally, the report details that the ubiquitous drones in Gaza have been \u201clargely developed and supplied\u201d by these companies, performing intelligence and surveillance tasks. Thus, IAI is not just a secondary supplier; it is a central component of the war machine operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, whose continued presence has been declared unlawful by the ICJ.<\/p>\nThe Legal Framework That Cannot Be Ignored: Complicity and Duty of Non-Assistance<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nThe discussion regarding IAI\u2019s participation in FIDAE 2026 transcends political or reputational dimensions; it activates concrete legal obligations for third States.<\/strong> The ICJ\u2019s Advisory Opinion from July 19, 2024, concluded that all States are obligated to not provide assistance or support to maintain the unlawful situation stemming from Israel\u2019s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.<\/strong> By allowing a state-owned Israeli company\u2014whose products are used in that occupation\u2014to promote its military capabilities in Chilean territory with government approval, an act of institutional facilitation arises that directly clashes with this duty of non-assistance. As documented by Amnesty International in its briefing \u201cPull the Plug on the Political Economy Enabling Israel\u2019s Crimes\u201d (September 2025), \u201cStates, public institutions, and companies must cease contributing to the unlawful occupation, apartheid, and genocide in Gaza.\u201d Promoting IAI at FIDAE, therefore, amounts to a contribution to normalizing an industry that makes these crimes possible.<\/p>\nReal Legal Risks: From Hypothetical to Concrete Exposure for Chilean Authorities<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nWhat was once a hypothetical risk has now become a concrete scenario. The international legal context has shifted radically: there are provisional measures from the ICJ in the case against Israel for genocide, arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court against high-ranking Israeli authorities (with Netanyahu wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity),<\/strong> and a growing activation of the principle of universal jurisdiction in European courts.<\/p>\nIn this scenario, the Chilean authorities who promoted, supported, or executed the decision to include IAI\u2014including the President, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense, the Chief of the Air Force, and the President of FIDAE\u2014face a level of personal exposure that could lead to precautionary measures, strategic litigation, or regulatory scrutiny in foreign jurisdictions.<\/strong> This is not an imminent threat but rather an avoidable legal vulnerability that the Chilean state has decided to assume without apparent justification.<\/strong><\/p>\nStrategic Coherence: The Contradiction with Russia\u2019s Exclusion Erodes Foreign Policy<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nPerhaps the most glaring weakness of this decision is its internal contradiction. Chile maintains the exclusion of Russia from FIDAE\u2014a measure adopted in 2022 and sustained to this day\u2014on the grounds of not facilitating the promotion of military industries linked to violations of international law. However, it allows IAI\u2019s participation in a context also marked by severe international scrutiny, including a UN statement describing \u201congoing genocide.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the criterion is that Chile should not be a platform for military promotion associated with serious violations, its selective application undermines the credibility of the State, exposes the country to valid accusations of double standards, and erodes the coherence of foreign policy. For a middle power like Chile, which cannot impose its will by force, consistency in respecting international law is not a discursive luxury: it is a strategic necessity to preserve its room for maneuver in the international system.<\/p>\n
A Foreign Policy Signal with Effects Beyond the Exhibition<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\nThe decision to permit Israel Aerospace Industries to participate in FIDAE 2026 is neither a technical nor a neutral choice. It sends a clear signal regarding foreign policy that entails: a break from the established Chilean standards of 2022 and 2024; a disalignment with the practices of Western democracies that have restricted Israel; exposure to concrete legal, political, and reputational risks; and a direct impact on the coherence of Chilean foreign policy by maintaining the exclusion of Russia while allowing IAI\u2019s participation.<\/p>\n
In an increasingly tense international context, where adherence to international law remains an essential tool for countries that are not military powers, consistency is not a luxury; it is a strategic necessity. The Kast administration still has the opportunity to reconsider a decision that, if upheld, will leave Chile in a position of unjustified exceptionalism and legal vulnerability.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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