Argentine-British détente faces test on invasion anniversary

Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands 35 years ago but failed to wrest the disputed South Atlantic archipelago, known in Latin America as Islas Malvinas, from British control. The sensitive anniversary will test the new Argentine-British détente after a recent ruling placed the territory in Argentine waters.

There appears to be more interest in Buenos Aires now in sharing the spoils of the disputed territory. In Sep 2016 the BBC reported that Argentina and Britain have agreed to work toward removing measures restricting the oil and gas industry, shipping and fishing around the disputed islands. Meanwhile, both countries still regard the archipelago as sovereign territory.

President Mauricio Macri, who replaced Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in Dec 2015, has looked to repair relations with western powers such as the United Kingdom and United States after years of isolation. He is reported to be on a mission to attract foreign investment in order to reactivate Argentina’s stuttering economy.

Britain, meanwhile, disputes the ruling but is looking wider for trading partners in the aftermath of the Jun 2016 vote that will take it out of the European Union.

The UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf sided with Argentina in Mar 2016, ratifying the country’s 2009 report fixing the limit of its territory at 200 to 350 miles from its coast, and increasing its maritime territory in the South Atlantic Ocean by 35 per cent to include the disputed Falkland Islands and beyond.