Argentina and Great Britain: New attempt in the island conflict

When Argentine President Javier Milei takes the lectern at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, he will reiterate Argentina's claim to sovereignty over the Malvinas, which are a British overseas territory known as the Falkland Islands. The fact that Milei is relying on the support of US President Donald Trump will also be clear in his speech.

Trump has complained against Great Britain several times in recent weeks and has also questioned the US position on the island conflict. However, the US President's comments can be interpreted more as an expression of his frustration with the British government's lack of support in the war against Iran and less as active support for Argentina's position on the archipelago in the South Atlantic.

“Las Malvinas son argentinas! – The Malvinas are Argentine!” said Milei in a nationally broadcast speech at the beginning of September. The archipelago is located 400 kilometers off the Argentine Atlantic coast. The islands have been under British control since 1833. They are inhabited by around 3,000 people, mostly of British descent.

In April 1982, the then Argentine military junta began invading the islands, prompting Britain to send warships. The USA stood behind Great Britain. The war lasted over two months and ended with Argentina's surrender and the deaths of 649 Argentine and 255 British soldiers, as well as 3 islanders.

Since then, Argentina has been trying to regain the islands through diplomatic channels. The most important forum for this is the UN General Assembly, at which Argentina annually has the UN resolution passed in 1965 confirmed with always broad support. This recognizes a sovereignty dispute in the context of a “colonial situation” and calls on Great Britain to negotiate with Argentina.

While the conflict has faded into the background internationally, it is omnipresent in everyday Argentine life. The slogan “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” is emotionally charged. It is taught in kindergarten and school. It is on public transport, and anyone driving through the Pampas will pass a street sign with the slogan emblazoned on it every few hundred kilometers.

Some Argentine players also reminded the world of Argentina's demand at the World Cup in mid-July when, after the semi-final game against England, they spread out a bedsheet labeled with the slogan that some fans had smuggled into the stadium and thrown over the barrier. But while the campaign met with great sympathy among the population, the government was not very enthusiastic about it.

At the beginning of September, however, the government renewed its claim. The reason was the “Sea Lion” project, in which two companies from Great Britain and Israel want to start offshore oil production around 220 kilometers north of the islands. “Our national cause today faces a clear and urgent danger that requires an appropriate response,” the president said in the address.

Milei announced tough sanctions against all companies involved in Sea Lion and the establishment of a naval base in Tierra del Fuego, near the Falkland Islands. To do this, however, an existing sanction law must be tightened and work must continue on a long-idle construction site in the capital of Tierra del Fuego province, Ushuaia. Last week, the government introduced the necessary bill in Congress.

The British government's reaction was prompt. The sanctions against the companies are “unacceptable” and “legally unfounded”. The islands are “British” and their residents have the right to exploit natural resources in accordance with their right to self-determination, it said on Friday from London.

The fact that the libertarian president is playing the nationalism card can also be interpreted differently. Milei's poll numbers are bad. The economic and social climate is becoming increasingly dark and his re-election next year is no longer certain. The reactions show that Milei can score points with this. “Even if it were the worst government in the world, everything that was done against the English invaders would be right,” wrote the left-wing Peronist and staunch opponent of Mileis, Juan Grabois.