1982 veterans show support in Plaza de Mayo

Look at any map printed in Argentina, and you’re told in no uncertain terms that the Falklands are called the Malvinas and its main city is named Puerto Argentino, rather than Stanley. Of course, it’s still and always a British territory and has never been legally part of Argentina.

Argentina’s claim over the islands is based on an 1826 accord between Britain and a territory that wasn’t yet Argentina, the United Provinces. This treaty granted them the right to start a settlement on the islands, but soon after, the United Provinces violated the agreement and declared its sovereignty over the archipelago. Britain regained control in 1833 without a shot being fired, and it wasn’t long before these cold barren rocky isles in the South Atlantic stopped being of interest to the nation to the west. That is, until 1982, when Argentina’s military dictator, Leopoldo Galtieri decided to make the Falklands his cause célèbre, sending a makeshift force to invade the islands. Galtieri severely misjudged the British and its Iron Lady, prime minister Margaret Thatcher, who sent an expeditionary force that quickly ousted the Argentine forces. Galtieri hoped to distract public attention at home from the disastrous economy, but instead the fiasco ended his and all future military rule.

Fast forward to 2010 and the imminent beginning of oil exploration drilling in the Falklands territorial waters, and the controversy was hauled back to the surface. The extremely unpopular Argentinean president, Cristina Kirchner, decreed that any vessels traveling to the Falklands must register with the Argentinean authorities, This in effect, constitutes an embargo against the UK, and it wasn’t long before British war vessels were dispatched to the area.

Kirchner may have obtained the support of virtually every other Latin American nation, but Argentina’s argument for its historic sovereignty over the “Malvinas” is extremely weak, and the current protest may seem hypocritical in view of its timing. It does appear to be an attempt to stir up patriotism to distract attention from a disastrous domestic policy, a move which most Argentineans aren’t buying into. It would be unthinkable for Argentina to launch another armed conflict which the UK would be sure to win again, and the order to request permission to sail to the islands is unenforceable and sure to provoke an immediate and forceful reaction from the British if it was applied. Not one to be taunted, the Royal Navy has already begun expelling any Argentinean war ships that stray into Falkland waters.

The latest salvo from Buenos Aires is the threat that any company participating directly or indirectly in the Falklands’ oil exploration might be barred from doing business in Argentina. On a less serious note, Argentinean veterans of the 1982 war say they’re ready to invade the islands again. The Kirchner-friendly Argentinean media report that there are 60 million barrels in offshore oil reserves in the Falklands, but this is completely speculative, as the current drilling is strictly exploratory and may in fact reveal that there is no economically viable deposits in the area. What’s certain is that there are a lot of sheep in the island chain, just as in 1982!

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