Chile seeks ways to improve Bolivia's sea access

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chile said on Thursday it was exploring ways of expanding sea access for Bolivia, the neighbor it left landlocked more than a century ago after seizing much of its immense copper wealth.

Sea access has been a major issue for Bolivia since the 1879-1883 War of the Pacific that allowed Chile to annex a vast northern expanse of land from both Peru and Bolivia.

Chile has rejected yielding any sovereignty over the territory, but on Tuesday authorized Bolivia to import goods under its own authority -- without the intervention of Chilean customs -- through the ex-Bolivian port of Iquique.

It is looking for additional ways to resolve the issue, even though hopes of reestablishing diplomatic relations broken off 30 years ago still look distant.

"There are other measures to improve Bolivia's access to the sea that have been discussed in very general terms, and at some point it will be necessary to do technical studies," Alejandro Foxley, Chile's minister of foreign relations told reporters.

"But we're not going to discuss them publicly for obvious reasons."

The 125 years elapsed since the war have not diminished passions on either side of the border regarding sea access, but some of the players and the bargaining chips have changed.

These days the conflict is squarely at the center of Bolivia's refusal to export any of its abundant natural gas supplies to energy-poor Chile, which has seen its growth potential limited by short supplies of the fuel.

Despite the historic enmity, under Chile's first female president, Michelle Bachelet, and Bolivia's first indigenous president, Evo Morales, the two countries look closer than ever to resolving the issue.

"We want to send a signal that this dialogue is positive, constructive," Foxley said. "It's consistent with the new type of relations we want to have with Bolivia."

(Reporting by Antonio de la Jara; writing by Lisa Yulkowski, editing by Todd Eastham)