The Argentine Government expresses its deep concern over the news emerging from the official Twitter account of the Commander Submarine Force Atlantic (COMSUBLANT), which refers to operations apparently conducted by the U.S. recently with British support in the South Atlantic, “demonstrating the global reach of both nations’ forces.”
The presence of ships capable of carrying and using nuclear weapons in the South Atlantic contravenes Resolution 41/11 of the United Nations General Assembly (Zone of Peace and Co-operation of the South Atlantic), which, among other provisions, calls upon States of all other regions, in particular militarily significant States, to scrupulously respect the region of the South Atlantic as a zone of peace and co-operation, especially through the reduction and eventual elimination of their military presence there, the non-introduction of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction.
It is not the first time that Argentina has condemned the presence of a British military base in the Malvinas Islands, which is also contrary to various United Nations resolutions, such as Resolution 31/49, which requests the governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to expedite the negotiations over the sovereignty dispute, and calls upon the two parties to refrain from taking decisions that would involve introducing unilateral modifications in the situation while the Islands are going through the negotiation process.
The use of illegally settled forces for global geostrategic purposes is a clear indication that the arguments offered by the United Kingdom are totally unrelated to the bilateral relationship with Argentina.
Our country calls on all signatory States to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco) and its Additional Protocols to observe its provisions and to refrain from engaging in any activity that may jeopardize the military denuclearization status in the region. Argentina regrets that in the year that marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, countries are trying to build international relations based on the expansion of military capabilities.