Kathmandu, September 24
Argentine President Javier Milei has renewed his country’s claim to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas in Argentina, calling for negotiations with Britain to resolve the long-running dispute.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Milei described the Malvinas as a “national cause” for Argentina and urged Britain to resume talks over the sovereignty of the islands.
“The Malvinas for us is a national cause,” Milei said, accusing the United Nations of failing to enforce resolutions calling on both sides to avoid unilateral actions while the dispute remains unresolved.
He said the issue was not only a dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom but also a test of the UN’s ability to enforce its own resolutions.
“The Malvinas issue is not merely a matter between Argentina and the United Kingdom,” Milei said. “It is also a question regarding this organization’s ability to enforce its own resolutions.”
Dispute intensifies
Milei has stepped up Argentina’s focus on the islands in recent weeks, following criticism of his closer ties with Britain and his stated admiration for former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Thatcher led Britain during the 1982 Falklands War, which began after Argentina’s military government invaded the islands. Britain sent a task force to the South Atlantic and regained control of the islands after 73 days.
The conflict killed 649 Argentine and 255 British military personnel.
Earlier this month, Milei announced measures aimed at stopping an oil project near the British-controlled islands. He also praised US President Donald Trump for saying Washington could reconsider its longstanding neutral position on the sovereignty dispute.
Argentina’s government last week introduced a security bill that would increase penalties for companies exploiting natural resources around the islands without Argentine authorisation. The proposed legislation would also establish a national security council chaired by Milei and expand the military’s role in protecting critical infrastructure.
Milei used his UN address to intensify his criticism of the international body.
“Today I come to say that Argentina will not sit and wait for the UN and the international community to live up to their own mandate,” he said.
He also accused the UN of becoming an ineffective organisation dominated by what he called arrogant bureaucrats.
Britain says it will stand firm
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham also addressed the dispute during the UN General Assembly week, saying Britain’s position remained unchanged.
“We will defend the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination and to remain British,” Burnham told reporters after meeting Trump on the sidelines of the UN gathering on Tuesday.
He said Britain would “stand firm” in response to any threats.
Trump said in August that he was reviewing the United States’ neutral position on the islands while criticising Britain over its support for the US war against Iran.
The Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas in Argentina, are an archipelago of about 3,500 people in the South Atlantic, around 480 kilometres east of Argentina’s southeastern coast.
Britain has controlled the islands since 1833, while Argentina continues to claim sovereignty over them.
In a 2013 referendum, 99.8 percent of voters on the islands backed remaining a British overseas territory, with only three votes cast against.
