The Falkland/Malvinas case

The United Kingdom and Argentine are upholding a conflict about the status of a small group of islands in the South Atlantic since decades. Even the name of the islands, consisting of two large and several smaller ones, is contested. The British name is Falkland Islands while they are called las Malvinas in Argentine. Both the British and the Argentinian government claim the islands to be part of their territory. While Argentine sees them as an integral part of their Tierra del Fuego Province, Britain maintains their status as British dependent territory. The Argentinian claim is even included in transitional provisions of its constitution.

The contested islands look back at a changing history of rivaling claims. The British first landed on the islands in 1690. France claimed de facto control over the islands by founding a settlement in 1764. The 1713 Treaty of Utrecht conceded control of the islands to Spain, which lead to the expulsion of French and British settlers from the islands by 1770. The Argentinians first claimed sovereignity over the islands in 1820 after it's independence from Spain. Argentina was still known as the United Provinces of the River Plate Since at that time. Since 1833 there is a fully fledged British colony on the islands. The population of the islands sees itself as British, but Argentine declines their claims for self-determination, stating that the original (Argentinian) population has been expelled by British colonists who thus do not have a genuine right to self-determination.

The conflicting claims from Britain and Argentine first led to real tensions during the Falklands War / Guerra de las Malvinas in 1982. The Argentinian military junta used the claim for the islands as a vent for the growing discontent of the population with the military government. These claims quickly culminated in an Argentinian invasion of the islands in 1982. Contrary to Argentinian expectations, the United Kingdom under Margret Thatcher reacted quickly and sent a naval force to retake the islands. The resulting conflict lasted 76 days and cost the lives of 1000 soldiers and a handful of civilians and ended with the British reposession of the islands. The loss of the islands led to the toppling of the military junta that had originally triggered the conflict to consolidate it's rule.

Argentinian claims for the islands have never since been secluded and have been renewed in 1994, 2009 and 2010. The recent discovery of oil in the sea around the islands has led to new tensions in February 2010. While British companies began preparing the extraction of the oil, supposed to start in 2011, Argentinian President Christina Kirchner declared that Argentine is taking control of all shipping between its coast and the islands in order to hamper the exploitation of the oil field. While there are voices in the international (especially the British) press, saying that President Kirchner is using the Argentinian claim for the islands as a vent for discontent with her government, just like the military junta in 1982, Argentinians are taking the claims as a serious issue of national identity.

A suitable first step to defuse the conflict would be an agreement between the British and Argentinian governments to exploit the oil fields in a joint operation and share the profits. Economical cooperation could then help to unravel the highly symbolical issues that have proctracted the conflict. A conflict between two of the largest and most important states of Europe and Latin America can be a monkey wrench thrown into the process of deeper cooperation between the two continents and it is questionable if a group of remote islands are really worth the price to pay.

A sign on the Argentinian side of its border with Brazil,
proclaiming the Argentinian claim for the islands