Argentina Reasserts Claims To Falklands (again)

[NavalMoose]

Wow I've been promoted to Captain, you can pull strings.

 

[daftandbarmy]

Would it not be a nail in the coffin of the EU if one of the economical powers of the Union were attacked and the EU did little to assist? Should the Argentinians attack and take over the islands it would be destructive to the EU to not get involved in the efforts to retake those islands.

Yes, because the EU is just like the United States of America, right?  :rofl:

 

[old medic]

Navy 'sends submarine to Falklands'
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/navy-sends-submarine-to-falklands-6358981.html

The Royal Navy is sending a nuclear submarine to the Falkland Islands amid heightened tensions between Britain and Argentina over the disputed islands, it was reported today.

The Trafalgar class vessel, thought to be either HMS Tireless or HMS Turbulent, is believed to be being deployed to protect the islands from Argentine military action.

A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokeswoman said: "We do not comment on submarine deployments."

The Daily Mail reported that the Prime Minister had personally approved plans for one of the Navy's most sophisticated submarines to undertake the mission.

Sources told the newspaper that a team of Spanish-speaking communications workers would be aboard to monitor maritime radio transmissions in the region................

 

[Timmy!]

No.

The Falklands are a British problem.

No

They are a Commonwealth problem.

Regards,
TN

 

[aesop081]

No

They are a Commonwealth problem.

Regards,
TN

They are no more a Commonwealth problem than back in 1982.

 

[wannabe SF member]

It does make me wonder if the current canadian governement would be willing to participate if war ever broke out between GB and Argentine in the Falklands.

 

[GAP]

I don't see us having a dog in that fight.

I can see the U.S. giving intelligence like they did in '82, but not getting involved either...

 

[Edward Campbell]

I heard, (maybe just rumours?) from Brit sources - I was our of the country in the early 1980s and was "plugged in" to, inter alia, the UK military - that our ships took over some routine North Atlantic and Caribbean patrol duties to free up some UK ships for the South Atlantic.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Hugo Chavez sticks his oar in the debate.  :  Shared with the usual caveats.  Full story and photos at link. 

Venezuela threatens Britain over Falklands as its president vows to side with Argentina

Venezuela's left-wing president has raised the stakes over the Falkland Islands by pledging his armed forces would fight alongside Argentina in any conflict with Britain.  The inflammatory promise from Hugo Chavez came in the run-up to the 30th anniversary of the April 1982 invasion of the islands by Argentina.  At the same time, Foreign Secretary William Hague insisted the deployment of a British warship and Prince William to the Falklands was ‘entirely routine’.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096978/Falkland-Islands-Venezuela-threatens-Britain-Hugo-Chavez-vows-Argentina.html#ixzz1lcdS0gW1

 

[jeffb]

That makes things a little more interesting... Having Venezuela jump in might just be the pretext the US would need to side with the UK in a more open fashion. Chavez has been a thorn in the side of the US for awhile now. Of course, his close ties to China could lead this to have wider political implications.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

China is not going to help in this, they might use it as leverage for any advantage they can gain. I suspect that South American support for another military adventure to the Falklands is a mile wide and a few mm deep.

 

[Robert0288]

Via: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/02/08/world/americas/argentina-uk-falklands/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands (CNN) -- Britain on Wednesday dismissed a complaint from Argentina about the "militarization of the South Atlantic" as tensions rise regarding the Falkland Islands, over which the two countries fought a war 30 years ago.

"The people of the Falkland Islands are British out of choice," the British Foreign Office said in a statement. "They are free to determine their own future, and there will be no negotiations with Argentina on sovereignty unless the Islanders wish it."

It was responding to a warning from Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner that her country would file a protest at the United Nations.

"I have instructed our chancellor to formally present before the U.N. Security Council and the U.N. General Assembly this militarization of the South Atlantic, which implies a great risk for international safety," she said during a speech in Buenos Aires.


No protest had been filed as of Wednesday afternoon, U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky.

Speculation in recent days had been that she would cut the Falklands air link to the South American mainland by banning the airline LAN Chile from using Argentinian airspace to fly to the islands from Chile. The Saturday flights are the only scheduled air service to the Falklands and carry fresh food as well as passengers.

The president made no such announcement in her speech Tuesday.
Why tensions are flaring over Falklands

Argentina already bans Falklands ships from its ports, an action joined by other South American and Caribbean nations.

"I guess we were all kind of relieved that there wasn't anything particularly concrete. It seems to be another burst of hot air really -- and to that degree -- we're relieved," said John Fowler, a journalist and Falkland Islands resident.

Britain and Argentina fought a war over the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls Las Malvinas, in 1982. Though Britain won the war, expelling an Argentinian military force, Argentina claims the territory, which has been under British rule since 1833, as its own. Britain maintains that the 2,500 residents of the Falklands have the right to determine their allegiance, and so far that has been staunchly British.

"The UK has no doubt about our sovereignty over the Falklands. The principle of self-determination, as set out in the U.N. Charter, underlies our position," the Foreign Office said.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said residents have a right to decide.

"We support the Falklands' right to self-determination, and what the Argentinians have been saying recently I would argue is actually far more like colonialism, because these people want to remain British, and the Argentinians want them to do something else."

Addressing Cameron directly in her speech, Fernandez said: "I simply want to ask the prime minister of England to give peace a chance."

Tensions between London and Buenos Aires were raised even higher this month when Britain sent Prince William to the Falklands as a military helicopter pilot.

The prince's deployment comes as Britain is making other moves to support its 1,700 personnel at the Mount Pleasant military complex in the Falklands.

"We are having what in game theory is called tit-for-tat ... I don't see an end in sight right now, but I'm sure that war is not the end," Federico Merke, a professor of international relations at San Andres University, said after the president's speech.

So why, besides supporting the Falklands' inhabitants, does Britain want to hang on to the islands? The answer may lie in the lucrative fishing grounds around the islands as well as a growing oil drilling industry.

Argentina, of course, has economic interests as well, but analysts say the current standoff has much to do with internal politics.

"The government is being squeezed from lots of different areas, so one way to distract from the economic problems facing the country is to raise the Malvinas issue," said Mark Jones, an expert in Latin American politics at Rice University in Texas. "It's one of the few issues outside football that you can get universal consensus on."

I agree with the last paragraph.  Nothing brings a nation together better than an external enemy.  Also what is this sillyness about bringing the UN in?  What are they going to protest?

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Maybe the UN can demine the place. speaking of which who is paying for the demining effort? maybe they should airmail the mines home....

 

[The Bread Guy]

More from the Thin Pinstriped Line blog on why Argentina is going down U.N. road on this one...

.... So why is Argentina doing this? Were the author cynical, he'd suggest that it owed a great deal to the needs of the President to avoid diverting attention away from internal politics, the growing disputes with the media, the poor economic situation and the wider problems that Argentina has. International affairs are fantastic for diverting attention away from inconvenient local problems. President Kirchner would benefit greatly from diverting attention away from her woes, and also perhaps gaining a popularity boost to boot ....

- edited to fix whack job spelling errors -

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Having a debate on the ADA in the Falklands, anyone have current information about their Air-defense systems there?

 

[daftandbarmy]

Having a debate on the ADA in the Falklands, anyone have current information about their Air-defense systems there?

Looks like 16 Regt with Rapier http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Artillery

 

[Bird_Gunner45]

Looks like 16 Regt with Rapier http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Artillery

Yeah, when we were there in the autumn they had mentioned that they were upping the GBAD presence, with a minimum of 1 Regiment of Rapier.  That many systems in that small an area should effectively neutralize the Argentinian AF, particularly if they deploy early warning radar

 

[larry Strong]

Yeah, when we were there in the autumn they had mentioned that they were upping the GBAD presence, with a minimum of 1 Regiment of Rapier.  That many systems in that small an area should effectively neutralize the Argentinian AF, particularly if they deploy early warning radar

Are they a good system?

 

[Bird_Gunner45]

Are they a good system?

By modern standards it's not a terribly effective system, and like any other system requires a mixed layer approached to maximize coverage (mixed with a gun and MANPAD system).  That said, the systems themselves should be effective agaisnt what the Argentines can throw out, particularly if there is a good early warning system in place.

 

[larry Strong]

Thanks for the info

Larry