Landlocked Bolivia's Navy
Monday September 1, 2008
Despite the fact that Bolivia is a landlocked South American country, it does have a navy. The Guardian reports on Bolivia's efforts to professionalize this branch of the military, which aspires to the high seas but remains stuck on rivers and Lake Titicaca. Bolivia lost its ocean access in its 1879-1884 war with Chile and wants that access returned.
Comments
Bolivia’s landlocked neighbour Paraguay also has a navy. Paraguay’s navy patrols the large rivers that flow through that country. Just prior to the Chaco War (1932-35) Paraguay had two gunboats built in Italy, which were designed specifically for navigation on the rivers of Paraguay, and they were used during the Chaco War to transport troops and material to and from the War.
Brian
Do you know how many people would love to have a uniform designed for the Bolivian Navy?
What about the patrol of Lake Titicaca?
Are there other landlocked countries with navies? Perhaps Austria (post WWI), Zimbabwe, or the nations bordering the Caspian Sea?
Nine other land-locked countries operate a full-time navy:
Azerbaijan
Central African Republic
Kazakhstan
Laos
Paraguay
Rwanda
Serbia
Turkmenistan
Uganda
Azberijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan border the Caspian Sea, which does not connect to the ocean so they may be inherently “land-locked.”
Other land-locked countries operate naval patrols through their armies:
Burundi
Malawi
Switzerland