Virote_Considon
The Great Dictator
Seeing as things are heating up over the Falklands recently, I want to know who folks think should own the Falklands...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8521429.stm
UK prepared in Falklands, says PM
The UK has made "all the preparations that are necessary" to protect the Falkland Islands, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said.
However, the Ministry of Defence has denied reports that a naval taskforce is on its way to the Falklands.
Argentina has brought in controls on ships passing through its waters to the islands over UK plans to drill for oil.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague told the BBC the Royal Navy's presence in the region should be increased.
The Sun newspaper reported that up to three ships were to join the islands' regular patrol vessel.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt understands the destroyer HMS York and the oil supply tanker RFA Wave Ruler are in the area, as well as HMS Clyde, which is permanently based there.
However, the MoD said Britain already had a permanent naval presence in the South Atlantic as well as more than 1,000 military personnel on the islands.
'Very clear'
Speaking on Gateshead-based Real Radio in the North East, Mr Brown said he did not expect to send a taskforce to the area.
He said he hoped "sensible discussions" with Argentina would prevail, adding: "We have made all the preparations that are necessary to make sure the Falkland islanders are properly protected."
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said all UK oil exploration in the area was "completely in accordance with international law".
He added: "We maintain the security of the Falklands, and there are routine patrols continuing."
After Argentina's invasion of the Falklands in 1982, a UK taskforce seized back control in a short war that claimed the lives of 649 Argentine and 255 British service personnel.
The BBC's Andrew Harding in Buenos Aires said it was difficult to find anyone in Argentina who believed the Falklands were in danger of being at the centre of a military conflict.
But Argentine Deputy Foreign Minister Victorio Taccetti said his country would take "adequate measures" to stop oil exploration.
Meanwhile, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Hague called for "some sort of increased naval presence - it may just be one more ship visiting more regularly" in the region.
He added: "That kind of thing would show very clearly to Argentina - with whom, again, we want friendly relations - that we will be very firm about this. It would send a signal not to misunderstand British intentions.
"One of the things that went wrong in the 1980s is that the Argentines thought we weren't really committed to the Falkland Islands. So, we mustn't make that mistake again. Our commitment should be very clear."
Buenos Aires claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, which it calls Islas Malvinas.
It has previously threatened that any company exploring for oil and gas in the waters around the territory will not be allowed to operate in Argentina.
Ocean bed
On Tuesday, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez signed a decree requiring all vessels travelling between Argentina and the islands, or those wanting to cross Argentine territorial waters en route to the Falklands, to seek prior permission.
But a drilling rig from the Scottish Highlands, the Ocean Guardian, is nearing the islands and is due to start drilling next week, the UK-based company Desire Petroleum has said.
Last week, a ship carrying drilling equipment was detained by Argentine officials.
Geologists say the ocean bed surrounding the Falklands could contain rich energy reserves.
Last year, Argentina submitted a claim to the United Nations for a vast expanse of ocean, based on research into the extent of the continental shelf, stretching to the Antarctic and including the island chains governed by Britain.
It is due to raise the issue at the UN next week.
On Thursday, an MoD spokesman said the government was "fully committed" to the Falklands, adding: "A deterrence force is maintained on the islands."
Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant said it was important not to lose sight of the fact that the UK and Argentina were "important partners".
But he added: "'We have no doubt about our sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and we're clear that the Falkland Islands government is entitled to develop a hydrocarbons industry within its waters."
The waters surrounding the disputed islands are considered by the UK to be part of the British Overseas Territories.
But Buenos Aires believes the UK is illegally occupying the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8531052.stm
Argentina wins Falklands backing
Latin American and Caribbean leaders at a summit in Mexico have unanimously backed Argentina in its new row with the UK over the Falkland Islands.
Leaders of all 32 countries supported Argentine claims to the islands and condemned oil drilling operations that are already under way.
The row erupted after a UK firm began drilling for oil off the Falkland Islands and Argentina objected.
Buenos Aires has ruled out military action and is pursuing talks at the UN.
“ What is the geographic, the political or economic explanation for England to be in Las Malvinas? Could it be because England is a permanent member of the UN's Security Council where they can do everything and the others nothing? ”
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
In a statement, the leaders reaffirmed "backing for Argentina's legitimate rights in its sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom relating to the 'Malvinas Question'".
The statement also urged the two governments to "renew negotiations in order to find in the shortest time possible a just, peaceful and definitive solution to the dispute".
Meanwhile Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on the UN to debate Argentina's sovereignty claim.
"What is the geographic, the political or economic explanation for England [sic] to be in Las Malvinas?" he asked.
"Could it be because England is a permanent member of the UN's Security Council [where] they can do everything and the others nothing?"
Drilling operation
Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana is due to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
Andy Gallacher, BBC News, Cancun
For the Argentine government the Cancun summit has been a huge success.
They have received unanimous backing condemning Britain's oil drilling activities in the Falkland Islands and backing its claims of sovereignty over the long disputed archipelago.
Leaders from 32 nations spanning Latin America and the Caribbean backed what is becoming an increasingly bitter dispute between the British and Argentine governments.
Backing on this scale by so many nations is now bound to give the Argentines renewed fervour in their claims and calls for the British government to negotiate sovereignty.
Argentina and Britain went to war over the South Atlantic islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas, in 1982, after Buenos Aires invaded them.
UK forces wrested back control of the territory, held by Britain since 1833, during a seven-week war that killed 649 Argentine and 255 British service personnel.
The British-contracted rig Ocean Guardian began drilling 100km (62 miles) north of the Falklands on Monday.
The drilling operation in the disputed waters off the Falkland Islands could yield millions of barrels of oil and the British government says it will take all necessary measures to protect the archipelago.
But Buenos Aires has ruled out military action and is trying to pressure Britain into negotiations on sovereignty.
The Argentine foreign minister is due to meet with the UN Secretary General in New York as they continue their diplomatic offensive.
Also at the two-day summit of the Rio Group and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in Mexico, leaders agreed to set up a new regional body without the US and Canada.
The new bloc would be an alternative to the Organisation of American States (OAS), the main forum for regional affairs in the past 50 years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8534901.stm
Falklands diplomatic offensive puts UK on back foot
By Paul Reynolds
BBC News website, world affairs correspondent
The higher profile the Argentine government has recently managed to give the Falklands/Malvinas dispute reflects the greater support Buenos Aires has over the issue these days.
Following backing for Argentina's claim by the Rio Group of Latin American countries, the matter is being raised by Argentina's foreign minister with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Of course, the background is completely different today, compared with 1982 when the war over the islands took place.
There has been a democratic revolution across South America and the old antagonisms (especially between Argentina and Chile, which supported Britain in 1982) have died down.
Grandstanding
Despite dismissing it as another round of grandstanding that will lead nowhere, the British government is having to work harder than usual diplomatically to justify its refusal to discuss sovereignty.
Its minister for the region, Chris Bryant, said that Britain had "no doubt about our sovereignty over the Falkland Islands".
"It is underpinned by the principle of democratic self-determination. Falkland Islanders want to remain British," he added.
Earlier, Argentina had imposed a new requirement for shipping to get permission to go from there to the islands.
This was in response to the start of drilling for oil off the Falklands, within the exclusive economic zone claimed by the Falkland Islands government, with the support of the UK.
However, even Argentina says this will not lead to conflict.
'Ridiculous claim'
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner told the Rio Group meeting in Mexico that the British Foreign Office had "stirred up the spectre of a threat of war from the Argentine Republic".
She continued: "This, I would say, was a ridiculous claim - no, it was a brazen claim because I think that since the return of democracy, few countries have given better evidence than Argentina has that it is a country with a profound commitment to peace."
So, one can rule out an armed conflict, despite the warning of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that if it came to one, Argentina would not be alone this time.
President Chavez also had some advice for the British monarch: "Queen of England, I'm talking to you. The time for empires is over, haven't you noticed? Return the Malvinas to the Argentine people."
But the Rio Group declaration supporting Argentina does not commit any government to giving Argentina material aid in the dispute, and all the talk there, as well as at the UN, is that the dispute should be solved peacefully.
Argentina has not got very far in the UN beyond an annual call from the decolonisation committee for talks about sovereignty and for a peaceful resolution.
The basic problem remains the same.
Treasure islands?
Argentina claims the islands based on its possession of them before the British takeover of 1833.
Britain rejects this historical claim and bases its own claim on the self-determination of the people living in the islands.
The best effort to get the two countries closer together came in 1995 when, in a joint declaration, both agreed to co-operate in developing oil exploration in the south-west Atlantic.
The agreement broke down when Argentina wanted to expand the co-operation zone across the disputed seas and Britain refused.
In the present atmosphere, it appears unlikely that the declaration could be revived in the event that oil is found in the drilling now under way.
So a flare-up of the dispute can be expected from time to time, with both sides falling back on their entrenched positions.
This has been going on since 1833 and will run and run.
And the area to which the Argentineans claim as their own:
So, questions:
1. Who should own the islands?
2. Do you think this is going to escalate much further?
3. Should Britain just take over Argentina and be done with it?
Spoiler Story 1 :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8521429.stm
UK prepared in Falklands, says PM
The UK has made "all the preparations that are necessary" to protect the Falkland Islands, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said.
However, the Ministry of Defence has denied reports that a naval taskforce is on its way to the Falklands.
Argentina has brought in controls on ships passing through its waters to the islands over UK plans to drill for oil.
Shadow foreign secretary William Hague told the BBC the Royal Navy's presence in the region should be increased.
The Sun newspaper reported that up to three ships were to join the islands' regular patrol vessel.
BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt understands the destroyer HMS York and the oil supply tanker RFA Wave Ruler are in the area, as well as HMS Clyde, which is permanently based there.
However, the MoD said Britain already had a permanent naval presence in the South Atlantic as well as more than 1,000 military personnel on the islands.
'Very clear'
Speaking on Gateshead-based Real Radio in the North East, Mr Brown said he did not expect to send a taskforce to the area.
ANALYSIS
Caroline Wyatt, BBC defence correspondent
It's clear that Britain has the military assets it needs in or around the Falkland Islands to back up its diplomacy with Argentina - on the principle that diplomacy succeeds best when a nation can talk softly but carry a big stick.
The MoD will only say that it is "maintaining" a deterrent force in the area, and that this is not a new taskforce - but it leaves little doubt that the UK has the means to defend the Falkland islanders already in place to back up its diplomatic stance.
But at the same time, the British government does not want to escalate the current row with Argentina, even as it remains firm on Britain's right to explore for oil around the Falklands, with the prime minister and others emphasising that they see "sensible discussions" prevailing.
Earlier this week, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton, the head of the Royal Air Force, drew attention to the situation in the South Atlantic in a speech to the International Institute of Strategic Studies, referring to the "increasingly tense situation" around the Falkland Islands to stress the need for maintaining air superiority.
He said he hoped "sensible discussions" with Argentina would prevail, adding: "We have made all the preparations that are necessary to make sure the Falkland islanders are properly protected."
Foreign Secretary David Miliband said all UK oil exploration in the area was "completely in accordance with international law".
He added: "We maintain the security of the Falklands, and there are routine patrols continuing."
After Argentina's invasion of the Falklands in 1982, a UK taskforce seized back control in a short war that claimed the lives of 649 Argentine and 255 British service personnel.
The BBC's Andrew Harding in Buenos Aires said it was difficult to find anyone in Argentina who believed the Falklands were in danger of being at the centre of a military conflict.
But Argentine Deputy Foreign Minister Victorio Taccetti said his country would take "adequate measures" to stop oil exploration.
Meanwhile, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Hague called for "some sort of increased naval presence - it may just be one more ship visiting more regularly" in the region.
He added: "That kind of thing would show very clearly to Argentina - with whom, again, we want friendly relations - that we will be very firm about this. It would send a signal not to misunderstand British intentions.
"One of the things that went wrong in the 1980s is that the Argentines thought we weren't really committed to the Falkland Islands. So, we mustn't make that mistake again. Our commitment should be very clear."
Buenos Aires claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, which it calls Islas Malvinas.
It has previously threatened that any company exploring for oil and gas in the waters around the territory will not be allowed to operate in Argentina.
Ocean bed
On Tuesday, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez signed a decree requiring all vessels travelling between Argentina and the islands, or those wanting to cross Argentine territorial waters en route to the Falklands, to seek prior permission.
But a drilling rig from the Scottish Highlands, the Ocean Guardian, is nearing the islands and is due to start drilling next week, the UK-based company Desire Petroleum has said.
Last week, a ship carrying drilling equipment was detained by Argentine officials.
Geologists say the ocean bed surrounding the Falklands could contain rich energy reserves.
Last year, Argentina submitted a claim to the United Nations for a vast expanse of ocean, based on research into the extent of the continental shelf, stretching to the Antarctic and including the island chains governed by Britain.
It is due to raise the issue at the UN next week.
On Thursday, an MoD spokesman said the government was "fully committed" to the Falklands, adding: "A deterrence force is maintained on the islands."
Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant said it was important not to lose sight of the fact that the UK and Argentina were "important partners".
But he added: "'We have no doubt about our sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and we're clear that the Falkland Islands government is entitled to develop a hydrocarbons industry within its waters."
The waters surrounding the disputed islands are considered by the UK to be part of the British Overseas Territories.
But Buenos Aires believes the UK is illegally occupying the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Spoiler Story 2 :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8531052.stm
Argentina wins Falklands backing
Latin American and Caribbean leaders at a summit in Mexico have unanimously backed Argentina in its new row with the UK over the Falkland Islands.
Leaders of all 32 countries supported Argentine claims to the islands and condemned oil drilling operations that are already under way.
The row erupted after a UK firm began drilling for oil off the Falkland Islands and Argentina objected.
Buenos Aires has ruled out military action and is pursuing talks at the UN.
“ What is the geographic, the political or economic explanation for England to be in Las Malvinas? Could it be because England is a permanent member of the UN's Security Council where they can do everything and the others nothing? ”
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
In a statement, the leaders reaffirmed "backing for Argentina's legitimate rights in its sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom relating to the 'Malvinas Question'".
The statement also urged the two governments to "renew negotiations in order to find in the shortest time possible a just, peaceful and definitive solution to the dispute".
Meanwhile Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called on the UN to debate Argentina's sovereignty claim.
"What is the geographic, the political or economic explanation for England [sic] to be in Las Malvinas?" he asked.
"Could it be because England is a permanent member of the UN's Security Council [where] they can do everything and the others nothing?"
Drilling operation
Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana is due to meet UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday.
ANALYSIS
Andy Gallacher, BBC News, Cancun
For the Argentine government the Cancun summit has been a huge success.
They have received unanimous backing condemning Britain's oil drilling activities in the Falkland Islands and backing its claims of sovereignty over the long disputed archipelago.
Leaders from 32 nations spanning Latin America and the Caribbean backed what is becoming an increasingly bitter dispute between the British and Argentine governments.
Backing on this scale by so many nations is now bound to give the Argentines renewed fervour in their claims and calls for the British government to negotiate sovereignty.
Argentina and Britain went to war over the South Atlantic islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas, in 1982, after Buenos Aires invaded them.
UK forces wrested back control of the territory, held by Britain since 1833, during a seven-week war that killed 649 Argentine and 255 British service personnel.
The British-contracted rig Ocean Guardian began drilling 100km (62 miles) north of the Falklands on Monday.
The drilling operation in the disputed waters off the Falkland Islands could yield millions of barrels of oil and the British government says it will take all necessary measures to protect the archipelago.
But Buenos Aires has ruled out military action and is trying to pressure Britain into negotiations on sovereignty.
The Argentine foreign minister is due to meet with the UN Secretary General in New York as they continue their diplomatic offensive.
Also at the two-day summit of the Rio Group and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in Mexico, leaders agreed to set up a new regional body without the US and Canada.
The new bloc would be an alternative to the Organisation of American States (OAS), the main forum for regional affairs in the past 50 years.
Spoiler Story 3 :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8534901.stm
Falklands diplomatic offensive puts UK on back foot
By Paul Reynolds
BBC News website, world affairs correspondent
The higher profile the Argentine government has recently managed to give the Falklands/Malvinas dispute reflects the greater support Buenos Aires has over the issue these days.
Following backing for Argentina's claim by the Rio Group of Latin American countries, the matter is being raised by Argentina's foreign minister with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Of course, the background is completely different today, compared with 1982 when the war over the islands took place.
There has been a democratic revolution across South America and the old antagonisms (especially between Argentina and Chile, which supported Britain in 1982) have died down.
Grandstanding
Despite dismissing it as another round of grandstanding that will lead nowhere, the British government is having to work harder than usual diplomatically to justify its refusal to discuss sovereignty.
Its minister for the region, Chris Bryant, said that Britain had "no doubt about our sovereignty over the Falkland Islands".
"It is underpinned by the principle of democratic self-determination. Falkland Islanders want to remain British," he added.
Earlier, Argentina had imposed a new requirement for shipping to get permission to go from there to the islands.
This was in response to the start of drilling for oil off the Falklands, within the exclusive economic zone claimed by the Falkland Islands government, with the support of the UK.
However, even Argentina says this will not lead to conflict.
'Ridiculous claim'
President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner told the Rio Group meeting in Mexico that the British Foreign Office had "stirred up the spectre of a threat of war from the Argentine Republic".
She continued: "This, I would say, was a ridiculous claim - no, it was a brazen claim because I think that since the return of democracy, few countries have given better evidence than Argentina has that it is a country with a profound commitment to peace."
So, one can rule out an armed conflict, despite the warning of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that if it came to one, Argentina would not be alone this time.
President Chavez also had some advice for the British monarch: "Queen of England, I'm talking to you. The time for empires is over, haven't you noticed? Return the Malvinas to the Argentine people."
But the Rio Group declaration supporting Argentina does not commit any government to giving Argentina material aid in the dispute, and all the talk there, as well as at the UN, is that the dispute should be solved peacefully.
Argentina has not got very far in the UN beyond an annual call from the decolonisation committee for talks about sovereignty and for a peaceful resolution.
The basic problem remains the same.
Treasure islands?
Argentina claims the islands based on its possession of them before the British takeover of 1833.
Britain rejects this historical claim and bases its own claim on the self-determination of the people living in the islands.
The best effort to get the two countries closer together came in 1995 when, in a joint declaration, both agreed to co-operate in developing oil exploration in the south-west Atlantic.
The agreement broke down when Argentina wanted to expand the co-operation zone across the disputed seas and Britain refused.
In the present atmosphere, it appears unlikely that the declaration could be revived in the event that oil is found in the drilling now under way.
So a flare-up of the dispute can be expected from time to time, with both sides falling back on their entrenched positions.
This has been going on since 1833 and will run and run.
And the area to which the Argentineans claim as their own:
So, questions:
1. Who should own the islands?
2. Do you think this is going to escalate much further?
3. Should Britain just take over Argentina and be done with it?
