Days after India extended support to Argentina's campaign to restart international negotiation on the Falklands territorial issue in the southern Atlantic Ocean, a British official on Monday said there was "no doubt" about the United Kingdom's sovereignty over the islands.
A spokesperson of the British High Commission told The Hindu that the citizens of the islands had conveyed that they did not wish to hold further discussion on sovereignty.
"The United Kingdom has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and surrounding maritime areas, nor about the principle and the right of the Falkland Islanders to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Charter," the spokesperson said.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited the Argentine capital Buenos Aires last week and held discussion on broadening cooperation across bilateral and multilateral arena. Argentina's Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero had visited India in April and sought India's support in restarting international negotiation on the Falkland Islands that Argentina refers to as Islas Malvinas. During his tour, Mr. Jaishankar reiterated India's support for restarting discussion on the issue that had triggered a war between Argentina and the U.K. in 1982, leading to the strengthening of British sovereignty over the region.
Argentina has maintained ever since that the war did not resolve the territorial issue and Mr. Cafiero said Argentina hoped to get the islands back through negotiation. He had described London's political control over the region as "absurd".
The United Kingdom had held a referendum in the Falklands in 2013 in which an overwhelming majority — 99.8% — of the voters wanted to maintain their current status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.
The British High Commission's spokesperson rejected the possibility of restarting the negotiation saying, "Discussions on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands can only happen if the islanders wish. They have made it absolutely clear that they do not."
Despite U.K.'s unwillingness, the Argentine campaign for the Falklands is expected to strengthen in the coming months as Buenos Aires continues its diplomatic drive to become member of new groupings. A member of G20, Argentina last week secured India's consent to become a member of BRICS.
The United Kingdom has argued that its relationship with the Falkland Islands and similar Overseas Territories is marked by "partnership, shared values" as well as the "right of the people of each territory to determine their own future". 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War which lasted for nearly 10 weeks.
The war began when Argentina sent a naval task force into the Sandwich Islands, and ended with the surrender of the Argentine side. A total of 649 Argentine military personnel and 255 British soldiers died in the conflict.
