The Argentine Government once again rejected in the strongest terms before the United Kingdom embassy the holding of new British military exercises in recent days in the territory of the Malvinas Islands. The Ministry of Foreign affairs, the Secretariat of the Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic, delivered a note to the diplomatic representation of the United Kingdom in Argentina where it conveys the strong rejection of the Cape Bayonet military exercise that the British Government has carried out in the archipelago.
Soldiers from the Welsh Guard and the Irish Royal Guard took part in the exercise together with forces from the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force, and the so-called “Falkland Islands Defense Force”, which are part of the military deployment in the illegal occupation of the Malvinas Islands by the United Kingdom.
The note sent states “the Argentine Republic once again rejects in the strongest terms the carrying out of these military maneuvers in Argentine territory unlawfully occupied by the United Kingdom. Unfortunately and in spite of the calls of many resolutions of various international fora and the arguments put forward in the SEMAS Notes 1/2021 of January 6, 2021 and 5/2021 of March 1, 2021, which objected to similar maneuvers carried out in the last days of last year and the early days of this year, these exercises have been carried out again in May and July this year with the participation of the Roulement Infantry Company (RIC), Irish Guards, “Falkland Island Defense Force” (FIDH), the HMS Forth ship, and Royal Air Force aircraft”
“These exercises constitute an unjustified display of force and a deliberate disregard of appeals by multiple United Nations and other international organizations resolutions, which urge both Argentina and the United Kingdom to resume negotiations, in order to find a peaceful and definitive solution to the sovereignty dispute that involves both countries in the Question of the Malvinas Islands ”.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Felipe Solá stated "The Argentine Government reaffirms once again its sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime spaces that are an integral part of the national territory of the Argentine Republic, which, being illegitimately occupied by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, are the subject of a sovereignty dispute recognized by the United Nations through resolution 2065 (XX) and subsequent resolutions of the General Assembly as well as other international organizations and fora”.
And he added: "Likewise, in accordance with the aforementioned resolutions, the Argentine Government reiterates that this is a sovereignty dispute that must be settle bilaterally between both countries and reaffirms its willingness to resume negotiations."
The Secretary of Malvinas, Antarctica and South Atlantic, Daniel Filmus, assured that "these British exercises violate all recommendations by the United Nations and the agreements of South Atlantic littoral countries. Argentina reiterates its call to the United Kingdom not to carry out military actions in the region and to resume diplomatic negotiations on the sovereignty over the islands under the conditions established by UN resolution 2065"
In particular, the persistence of the United Kingdom in conducting military exercises in the South Atlantic specifically contravenes resolution 31/49 of the United Nations General Assembly, which urges both parties (Argentina and the United Kingdom) to refrain from adopting unilateral decisions that entail the introduction of changes in the situation while the Islands are undergoing the negotiation process recommended by it. The military presence also contradicts General Assembly resolution 41/11 (Peace and Cooperation Zone in the South Atlantic) which, among other provisions, calls upon all States of all other regions, in particular the militarily significant States, scrupulously to 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. Furthermore, the British military presence in the Islands manifestly opposes the permanent goodwill of the Argentine Republic to settle the dispute by peaceful means, in accordance with international law and the pertinent resolutions of the United Nations.
The Argentine Government once again reaffirms its sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas, which are an integral part of its national territory, which, being illegally occupied by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, are the subject of a sovereignty dispute recognized by the United Nations through resolution 2065 (XX) and later of the General Assembly as well as other international organizations and fora. Also, in accordance with the aforementioned resolutions, the Argentine Government further reiterates that this is a sovereignty dispute that must be settle bilaterally between both countries and reaffirms its willingness to resume negotiations.
