Falkland Island tensions explode as Argentina slams 'illegal British exercise'

Tensions in the Falklands have once again erupted as British military exercises in the region have drawn strong criticisms from government officials.

The Government of Tierra del Fuego slammed the new British military exercises carried out in recent days in the Falkland Islands, also known as the Malvinas Islands, calling them a "clear violation of international law".

Governor Gustavo Melella said: "Once again we are witnessing the increasing British militarisation in the area of the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the corresponding maritime and island areas, in clear violation of international law.

"These actions reflect the arrogance of a colonial empire that in the 21st century is trying to maintain its illegal occupation of part of our provincial territory, threatening the territorial integrity of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands, and of the Argentine Republic."

"These exercises constitute an unjustified show of force and a deliberate departure from the calls of the numerous resolutions of the United Nations and other international bodies, which urge both Argentina and the United Kingdom to resume negotiations in order to find a peaceful and definitive solution to the sovereignty dispute involving both countries in the question of the Malvinas Islands."

He expressed his "utmost concern and complete repudiation of all military activity carried out by the British government in the South Atlantic which, in turn, undermines the maintenance of peace and security in the hemisphere".

Melella concluded: "As we have always done, we will expose, denounce and repudiate the United Kingdom every time it breaches international norms and wants to deepen its colonial presence in our territory."

Andrés Dachary, the Secretary for Malvinas, Antarctica, South Atlantic Islands and International Affairs, claimed the military exercises violate the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZPCAS).

The ZPCAS states that "all states in all other regions, especially militarily important states, to scrupulously respect the South Atlantic region as a zone of peace and cooperation, in particular by reducing and eventually eliminating their military presence in the region".

‌Dachary emphasised his support for the Falkland Islands and "rejection" of British military exercises in the region, asking for "international support" in the matter.

He said: "We will continue to maintain our rejection of the British military presence in the South Atlantic, and we are calling for international support in this regard, which has already been expressed in numerous regional schemes, under the premise that this presence is contrary to the policy of the region, which is always attached to the search for a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute."

Dachary said the Falklands should be a "region of peace and dialogue between nations, preserved from extra-regional political tensions, and with the common objective of resolving threats to international peace and security within the region".