Argentina Reaffirms Its Sovereignty Claim to Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Argentina‘s President Alberto Fernández has called on Great Britain to “end colonialism” and reasserted his country’s claim to exercise sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

In Argentina, June 10th was the “Day of Reassertion of Argentina’s Rights to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands”. This year, the country again emphasized its sovereign claim to the South Atlantic archipelago.

In 1982, the territorial conflict culminated in a war that lasted around three months and ended in Argentina’s defeat. President Fernández now spoke on Twitter of a “peaceful demand for an end to colonialism and the full exercise of sovereignty over these territories”.

Foreign Minister Felipe Solá, the Secretary of State for the Falkland Islands Daniel Filmus, and the Sub-Secretary for Fisheries, Carlos Liberman, submitted three draft laws.

The draft law is concerned with a new definition of the external border of the Argentinean continental shelf, which has also been unanimously approved by the competent United Nations Commission in 2016. This would change the map and increase Argentina’s territory by 1,633,000 square kilometers.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes the high priority given to political and economic affairs, as this will enable the exploration and extraction of oil, natural gas, and minerals as well as fishing to be increased.

In addition, the sanctions for illegal fishing in Argentine waters are to be updated and intensified. The benchmarks laid down in the relevant law are outdated and more dynamic means of sanctioning infringements are required. The official text states that “a wide range of national interests are at stake”.

Britain is accused of “continuing to issue illegal fishing licenses in Falklands territory, taking unilateral action and systematically ignoring the UN remit”.

There are also plans to establish a National Council for the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands, and surrounding marine areas. The Council, consisting of individuals from various disciplines and parties, will be charged with developing “medium and long-term strategies at the national, regional and global levels” to reinforce the claim to sovereignty. For the first time, veterans of the Falklands war are also to be part of such an initiative.

The British Governor of the Falkland Islands, Nigel Philipps, has assured the British government’s support and the defense of the islands’ sovereignty and their right to self-determination.

In an open letter, the local parliament thanked “the British armed forces for their defense” and expressed the wish to remain “part of British overseas territory”.