By Wendy Anders

Costa Rica has filed a new case before the International Court of Justice after the discovery of a Nicaraguan military camp allegedly set up in Costa Rican territory, said the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry on Monday.

This is the latest in a series of a longstanding dispute between the countries on the location of the border and territorial violations.

The international court ruled on December 16, 2015 that the beach of Isla Portillos, basically a sand bar separating Laguna Los Portillos – or Harbor Head Lagoon, as it is called in Nicaragua – from Costa Rican territory, belongs to Costa Rica, however the court noted it was impossible to determine the exact border location due to constant shifts in the Caribbean coastline.

A military camp alleged to have been newly built by Nicaragua on this sand bar is a sign of Nicaragua taking advantage of a certain degree of ambiguity in the border area to establish a military presence, said the Foreign Ministry.

Manuel González, Costa Rican Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that, “In order to expedite the decision on this issue and not delay the maritime delimitation case initiated in 2014, we have asked the Court to link both active cases,” and said that in this way he hoped the issue could be resolved this year.

Costa Rica is also asking for help with another aspect of the Dec. 2015 ruling in which the international court found that Nicaragua had violated international law by occupying Costa Rican territory in this same Caribbean coastal area in 2010, and that, owing to its actions, Nicaragua had to financially compensate Costa Rica, continued the Ministry of Foreign Relations.

The Court gave the parties a year to reach an agreement, after which time either party could request help from the Court to determine the final compensation amount if no agreement had been reached.

In June 2016, Costa Rica submitted to Nicaragua its estimate for material damages, which was assessed at US$6,723,476. Nicaragua rejected the Costa Rican estimate in November saying it was too high, and requested more documentation which Costa Rica provided a few days later.

Although the deadline for appealing to the Court in the case of nonpayment was December 16, Costa Rica gave Nicaragua additional time as an act of goodwill after Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said Nicaragua was willing to pay the economic compensation.

However, Nicaragua failed to respond after being granted the extension for payment, consequently Costa Rica has requested the Court to make a final determination on the amount due.

And so the saga of the contentious border continues.