In response to the statement made by the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the House of Commons, in which he presented an Integrated Review of Security, Defense, Development and Foreign Policy and the intention to maintain the military presence in the Malvinas Islands, the Argentine Republic maintained, once again, that it is necessary for the United Kingdom to listen to the call of the international community which advocates for the end of colonialism, restart the dialogue to peacefully resolve the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas Islands and comply with United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2065 (XX).
The Argentine Republic reiterated that, as established in its Constitution and as it has consistently stated since the restoration of democracy, it only recognizes dialogue, diplomacy and peace as the ways to recover the effective exercise of sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgias, and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas.
The Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaffirmed this position on behalf of the National Government through a statement published on March 16, in which it also stated that “the statements made by Johnson reiterate the traditional British colonialist view regarding the Malvinas Islands” and all of the colonies that the United Kingdom still maintains around the world.
The official text also maintains under the argument of defending the “right of peoples to self-determination” (not recognized by the United Nations in the Malvinas case), the illegal presence in the South Atlantic. The British military base in Malvinas is a threat to the entire region and is contrary to different Resolutions of the United Nations and other international forums, especially 31/49 and 41/11 of the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (ZPCAS).
This base in no way has a defensive sense, and its military presence is disproportionate, since Argentina has reiterated that the only way to recover the exercise of sovereignty is peace, dialogue, diplomacy and compliance with the international law. 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.
Argentina has repeatedly denounced that this base violates United Nations Resolution 31/49, which prohibits unilateral actions within the disputed area. Along the same lines, the South Atlantic countries of Latin America and Africa that make up the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone have argued that the United Kingdom's military presence poses a threat to the entire region.
This also happens in a context of deep concern for those who believe that Brexit has undermined the British position in the world and particularly those affected by the exclusion of overseas territories such as Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich
Islands and the surrounding maritime areas from the free trade agreement with the EU.
As President Alberto Fernández pointed out in his address to the National Congress on March 1, it is time for bilateral dialogue to recover the exercise of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands in the terms provided by United Nations Resolution 2065, and there is no more room for colonialism in the 21st century.
