Argentina and Britain revisit 1982 Falkland War tension

The United Kingdom is reasserting its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands after Argentina withdrew from a cooperative agreement and signaled an interest in renegotiating terms over the South Atlantic territory, a situation that once ignited a 1982 war between the two nations.

The announcement came after Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero made a comment on Twitter that he told British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly about the South American country’s decision when the two met at the G20 summit in New Delhi last week.

“The Falkland Islands are British,” Cleverly wrote on Twitter, Friday. “Islanders have the right to decide their own future — they have chosen to remain a self-governing U.K. Overseas Territory.”

Earlier, Cafiero said he told Cleverly his country wanted to withdraw from a 2016 pact in which the the two countries committed to working with one another.

Despite smooth diplomatic relations since the signing of the agreement, the issue over the Falklands, known as Islas Malvinas in Argentina, continued to be an issue. 

One source who spoke to EFE said some Argentine officials were unhappy with the agreement because it "made concessions to British interests regarding the exploitation of Argentine natural resources in the region and significantly regressed the just claim for sovereignty."

The source did not provide details on the position of Great Britain.

The source did indicate however, that the Argentine foreign minister asked Cleverly for a meeting at the U.N. in New York "to restart the discussion for the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands." 

The 2016 agreement between the two countries covered a wide range of issues related to their bilateral relationship, but excluded any deciding point on the Malvinas, an issue that London has refused to negotiate since the Falklands War with Argentina in 1982.