Related videos:
The Argentine government led by President Javier Milei reaffirmed its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and South Sandwich Islands this Friday, in direct response to statements from senior officials in the United Kingdom who defended the British control over the archipelago.
The trigger was the leak, by Reuters, of an internal email from the Pentagon in which the Trump administration assessed withdrawing its historical support for British sovereignty over the Falklands, in retaliation for the lack of support from the United Kingdom in the conflict with Iran and for not contributing to opening the Strait of Hormuz.
The chancellor Pablo Quirno issued an official statement in which he noted: "In light of the recent public declarations by high-ranking officials of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland regarding sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, Argentina reaffirms its sovereign rights over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and South Sandwich Islands, as well as the surrounding maritime spaces."
Quirno described the occupation of 1833 as a forceful act contrary to the international law of that time that violated Argentina's territorial integrity and initiated a colonial situation that remains to this day.
The chancellor also rejected the 2013 referendum, in which 99.8% of the islanders voted to remain under British administration, arguing that "the current inhabitants of the Falkland Islands have never been recognized as a 'people' by the United Nations" and that "it is not acceptable for the inhabitants of the islands to become arbiters of a territorial dispute in which their own country, as an implanted population, is a part."
The president Milei backed the stance with a strong message: "THE MALVINAS WERE, ARE, AND WILL ALWAYS BE ARGENTINE." In a subsequent interview, he added that his government is making progress "like never before" on the claim, achieving unprecedented support such as that from Chile, although he clarified that "sovereignty is non-negotiable, but it must be approached with intelligence."
The Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Carlos Presti, also joined the official stance: For history and for right, we reaffirm our sovereignty. The Malvinas Islands are and will always be Argentine.
From London, Prime Minister Keir Starmer dismissed any questioning, reaffirming the "undisputed sovereignty" of the United Kingdom based on the right to self-determination of the islanders. The British government maintained that the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is not in question.
This Saturday, the United States Department of State reaffirmed its historic position of neutrality: Our position on the Falkland Islands remains neutrality. We know there is a dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom regarding claims of sovereignty." Washington only recognizes the British "de facto administration," without taking a side on the sovereignty.
Argentina bases its claim on Resolution 2065 (XX) of the UN General Assembly and has the support of the OAS, MERCOSUR, CELAC, and the Group of 77 plus China.
The episode occurs days before the state visit of King Charles III to the United States, scheduled for April 28, adding diplomatic tension to the moment. Quirno also expressed Argentina's willingness to resume bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom to reach a peaceful and definitive solution.
Filed under: