Argentina demands the Falklands, and Britain responds

Javier Milei says the “winds of change” are blowing in Argentina’s favor. Britain’s Defence Minister Wes Streeting has answered with a blunt refusal: “The Falkland Islands are British.”

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The Falkland Islands are British.

Milei used a late-night address to renew Argentina’s claim to the islands, which Buenos Aires calls the Malvinas. He said they should belong to Argentina for both legal and historical reasons, and pledged to use “all the means of the state, diplomatic, economic, judicial and legal” against entities that Buenos Aires believes violate Argentina’s sovereignty.

The Argentine president also announced sanctions against foreign companies involved in oil exploration and extraction around the archipelago. The islands remain the subject of a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and Britain.

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Milei’s late-night statement tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than about the Falklands.

Streeting said Milei’s statement revealed more about domestic Argentine politics than about the Falklands, referring to Argentina’s presidential elections scheduled for next year. “The Falkland Islands are British because their people want to be British. Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unwavering,” he wrote on social media.

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The winds of change are blowing around the world in a way that favors our claims.

The article recalls that Argentina occupied the archipelago in 1982, triggering a 74-day war that ended with a British victory. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8% of island residents voted to remain a British overseas territory. Argentina disputes that result, arguing that the population consists of descendants of people resettled there by British authorities in the 19th century. The article also says Donald Trump suggested the United States might not help Britain if the dispute escalated.

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The Falkland Islands are British because their people want to be British. Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unwavering.