Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has reaffirmed Britain's commitment to the Falkland Islands, saying the UK will use force if necessary to defend the territory. His comments came after Argentine President Javier Milei delivered a national address overnight, claiming the "winds of change" were blowing in favour of Argentina's sovereignty claim over the British-held islands.
Escalating tensions over oil and sovereignty
In his address, Milei also threatened sanctions against oil companies operating in the area. Earlier this month, the Argentine government imposed sanctions on individuals and companies involved in oil exploration around the Falkland Islands and said it would file a criminal complaint against Navitas Petroleum over its operations in the region. He added that Donald Trump's willingness to reconsider the US position on the islands was "not empty words."
Following the speech, Streeting gave a firm response in an interview with The Sun, where he emphasised the Falklands' position as a British territory. He said: "This isn't 1982. The Argentinians lack the ability to take the Falkland Islands. We have the ability to defend the Falkland Islands."
Streeting: 'We back the Falklands'
Streeting added: "What we've seen from the president of Argentina is the same thing we hear from the Argies year in year out: whinging about the Falklands, saying it's theirs." He continued: "This issue was settled in 1982, and it remains the settled will of the Falkland Islanders, the overwhelming majority of whom you know choose to be British, and we we back we back the Falklands."
He also stated: "The Argentinians don't have the capability to take the Falklands. Britain does have the capability to defend them."
Falklands' British status and UN row
The Falklands have been a British territory since 1833. A 2013 referendum saw a turnout of 92%, with 99.8% of voters backing the Falkland Islands' continued status as a self-governing Overseas Territory of the UK.
Milei also made the row over the Falklands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas, the centrepiece of his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. During his address, he demanded talks with Andy Burnham over the sovereignty of the islands and criticised the "useless organisation" over its failure to make the UK hand over the territory, threatening to "take matters into our own hands."
He said: "An organisation established to defend the territorial sovereignty of its members decided to look the other way with regard to the situation of the Malvinas. I have come to tell you that Argentina is not going to sit around waiting for the UN and the international community to live up to their own mandate. We're going to take matters into our own hands."
Responding to his speech, the British UN delegation said: "The United Kingdom has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands."
