The Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed through a statement that the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland carried out, from April 26 to 28, military operations in illegally occupied Argentine territory, including the launch of Rapier missiles from the Malvinas Islands.
These operations constitute an unjustified show of force and, once again, disregard the appeals of numerous United Nations resolutions and other international organisations that urge both, Argentina and the United Kingdom, to resume negotiations, in order to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the sovereignty dispute between both countries over the Question of the Malvinas Islands.
The Argentine Government has reported the issue to the United Nations Secretary-General and the International Maritime Organisation. Last April 6, upon learning that such operations were to be carried out, it had sent the British Government a stern note of protest.
Moreover, in keeping with its responsibilities and obligations in terms of navigation security in the Southwest Atlantic, and within the framework of the International Maritime Organization and the International Hydrographic Organization, Argentina, through the Naval Hydrographic Service, issued the corresponding warning to safeguard Argentine sovereignty rights, so that the ilegal British military exercises do not endanger maritime traffic in the area.
These military operations prove, once again, that the illegal occupation of the Malvinas Islands is an excuse to maintain a disproportionate military base. It currently has 1,200 troops in Monte Agradable and 300 civilians that provide support services. The Malvinas Islands are one of the most militarized territories in the world, taking into account the number of military personnel per capita.
The British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) are disproportionate considering the Argentine Government's permanent commitment to dialogue and its wish to solve the territorial dispute through peaceful means. In addition, the British military deployment in the South Atlantic is consistent with the political guidelines of the recent British Integrated Review of Security, Defense, Development and Foreign Policy aimed at keeping an active presence in places of interest, considered to be strategic.
The official statement released last April 29 also states that this military deployment in a peaceful and nuclear-weapon-free area is not only affecting Argentina but also the countries of the region as well as other regions that have expressed their concern in multiple statements. In particular, the military presence and the missile launch are contrary to General Assembly Resolution 41/11 (South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone), which, among other provisions, calls upon states of all the other regions, in particular the militarily significant States, to scrupulously respect the region of the South Atlantic as a zone of peace and cooperation, especially through the reduction and eventual elimination of their military presence there.
The Argentine Government has also highlighted that the United Kingdom’s insistence on conducting military exercises in the South Atlantic specifically violates United Nations General Assembly Resolution 31/49 and holds the UK Government liable for any damage derived from this new operation contrary to the Resolution which calls on both parties to refrain from taking decisions that would imply introducing unilateral modifications in the situation while the Islands are going through the negotiation process recommended by the Resolution.
In this sense, the Secretary of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic of the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Daniel Filmus, stressed that “Argentina has reiterated that the only way to recover the effective exercise of sovereignty is peace, dialogue, diplomacy and compliance with international law”.
“The base and the disproportionate British military presence in the South Atlantic in no way has a defensive purpose. The main objective of the military presence is to ensure British access and control of Antarctica, the bi-oceanic corridor between the Atlantic and the Pacific, and to ensure that the United Kingdom can continue to exploit the natural resources of that entire region” concluded Filmus.
In response to this new hostile act, the Argentine Republic continues to reaffirm its permanent and constant willingness for both parties involved in the sovereignty dispute to negotiate.
