Britain has said the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is not up for negotiation, after Argentina’s newly-elected president promised to “get them back”.
Javier Milei, who won a resounding victory in Argentina’s presidential election on Sunday, said Buenos Aires had “non-negotiable” sovereignty over the Falklands, the archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean which is known as Islas Malvinas in Argentina.
Mr Milei said during a TV debate in the run-up to the election that “we have to make every effort to recover the islands through diplomatic channels”.
On Tuesday a spokesperson for prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “The UK has no doubt about the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, and indeed South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
“The UK government will continue to proactively defend the Falkland islanders’ right to self determination.”
I know the 80’s is back in fashion but this is ridiculous.
echodot@feddit.uk 11 months ago
I’m pretty sure it’s all just saber rattling. International agreement is firmly on the side of the UK having jurisdiction, so there isn’t really a diplomatic route that they can take.
A militaristic route would not do them any good either and they know it.
Not there’s anything about the Falkland Islands that is worth getting excited about. It’s all just a pissing contest.
PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 11 months ago
Oil.
The areas around the South American coastline is generally thought to be rich in oil reserves, and the UK have a good chunk of that with their economic borders smack in the middle of Argentina’s.
I’m no expert on Argentina domestic policy, but it does seem that every time a major drama is going on domestically, the government’s automatic reaction is “let’s get the Falklands!” to divert attention from their own issues.
See also: Boris Johnson and Ukraine, except over forty years.
echodot@feddit.uk 11 months ago
The UK has its own oil fields in the UK though.
Fleur__@lemmy.world 11 months ago
Having a common enemy is a good way of generating support, i think the main purpose of claiming the islands is just popularity.