The head of British diplomacy David Cameron arrived on Monday in the Falkland Islands, a territory whose sovereignty is disputed between the United Kingdom and Argentina, where he wants to reaffirm the
“right of the inhabitants to self-determination”
.
No UK foreign minister has visited the
“Falklands”
, as London calls them, for almost 30 years, and more generally no serving minister since Defense Minister Michael Fallon in 2016.
According to the British agency PA, the head of diplomacy landed at the Mount Pleasant air base, and plans to visit several battlefields of the war between London and Buenos Aires in 1982, in order to pay tribute to the 255 soldiers British people who lost their lives.
This South Atlantic territory, located 400 kilometers from the Argentine coast and almost 13,000 km from the United Kingdom, was disputed by London and Buenos Aires during this lightning conflict, which left more than 900 dead on both sides in 74 days.
David Cameron defends the right to “self-determination”
This visit comes a few weeks after the inauguration of Argentine President Javier Milei, who announced his intention to
“recover”
the Falklands in a
“diplomatic”
manner .
London, for its part, argues that almost 100% of the 2,000 inhabitants of these islands approved remaining under British control during a referendum in 2013.
“The Falkland Islands occupy an important place within the British family, and as long as “They will want to continue to be part of it, the question of sovereignty will not be discussed
,” declared David Cameron on Sunday, quoted in a government press release.
During his visit, he said he would reaffirm
the United Kingdom's "commitment to upholding people's right to self-determination
. "
For Argentina, these arid islands inherited from the Spanish crown after the country's independence were occupied by British troops in 1833, with the Argentine governor and settlers then expelled to the continent.