Buenos Aires condemned the manoeuvres, set for April 14 to 27, as a new "act of aggression" against Argentina and said it was summoning the British ambassador in protest.
The islands in the South Atlantic have been ruled by Britain since 1833 but Argentina claims them as their own and in 1982 attempted to seize control in a brief but bloody war.
Tensions have resurfaced between the two countries in recent years after Britain opened the area to oil exploration.
In a statement, a Foreign Office spokesman said the military manoeuvres were "routine exercises in the Falkland Islands that have happened approximately twice a year for many years".
He said advanced warning was always given to people working in the area, as well as to Argentina and to international hydrographic and maritime bodies.
- Argentina President Cristina Kirchner claimed earlier this month that the Falklands served as a nuclear base for the NATO alliance, of which Britain is a member.
- The Foreign Office spokesman said Saturday: "Argentine claims that we are 'militarising' the South Atlantic are wholly false. UK forces numbers have declined to the minimum necessary to defend the islands.
"Argentina's suggestion that the UK is seeking to threaten militarily either Argentina itself or the wider region is entirely without foundation, as is the suggestion that we deploy nuclear weapons in the region."
http://news.yahoo.com/britain-defends-falklands-exercises-argentine-protest-103651817.html
12/4/14
--
-
Related:
Argentina 'will seek to punish' firms that drill for Falklands oil. -New Malvinas secretary says Buenos Aires will defend its claim to islands and surrounding waters in international courts
La visita de un ministro británico a Malvinas sube la tensión con Argentina.....
Londres rechazó la ley argentina que sanciona a petroleras en Malvinas. -Señaló que las leyes argentinas no son aplicables en las islas.
Argentina threatens companies over Falklands oil drilling...
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Argentina slams ‘NATO’ Falklands as UK gears up for war games...
ReplyDeleteSaber rattling over the Falkland Islands, the scene of a bloody conflict between Argentina and Britain in 1982, is on the rise as the UK prepares for military drills off the coast of the South American nation.
Reports that the United Kingdom will conduct military exercises on the Falkland Islands, known as Las Malvinas in Argentina, has provoked a harsh response from the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who has called the islands "NATO's military base" in the region.
Eduardo Zuain, Argentina’s deputy foreign minister, summoned the British Ambassador in Buenos Aires to protest the "new show of military force" on what Buenos Aires considers to be "occupied territory."
A spokesman for the Embassy of Argentina in London commented: "The Government of the United Kingdom will conduct military exercises on occupied Argentine territory…including missile launchings from the Malvinas Islands.”
The spokesman called the upcoming British exercise “provocations and hostile acts” on behalf of an “extra-continental nuclear power.”
"This action is a new example of UK's disregard for United Nations resolutions, which call on both parties to resume negotiations over sovereignty and refrain from introducing unilateral modifications in the situation as long as the dispute persists."
Residents of the sparsely-populated Falkland Islands voted by 1,513 to three in favor of remaining under British control in a referendum last year. UK Prime Minister David Cameron said the results of the vote "could not have sent a clearer message."
The war games are scheduled to take place April 14-27. ..............http://rt.com/news/argentina-uk-drills-nato-136/
12/4/14