The Falkland Islands is a picturesque archipelago located in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, five hundred kilometers from the coast of Argentina. It includes two large and more than seven hundred tiny islands. The Falklands are renowned for their unique landscapes. This is one of those places where wildlife still prevails over civilization. Who would have thought that these paradise islands would become a real bone of contention between Great Britain and Argentina.
In mid-June 2012, the Argentines once again declared their rights to the Falklands at the UN. State President Christina Kirchner, speaking before the Decolonization Committee, announced that she would not stop fighting for these islands. Great Britain, whose colony they are, also does not intend to surrender. The British will definitely not allow the British to take away their land. Who will eventually command the archipelago must determine the referendum to be held in 2013.
These islands have a rather complicated history. Previously unknown lands were assigned to those states that discovered them. But here the two countries have different points of view. The British are convinced that the first archipelago was discovered by the English corsair John Davis in 1592. The Argentines, in turn, believe that the Falklands were discovered in 1522 by a member of the Spanish round-the-world expedition, Esteban Gomez.
The ownership of these islands was once disputed by Spain, France and Great Britain. At the beginning of the 19th century, Argentina became independent from Spain, and it was then that the archipelago came under its possession. But in 1832 he was captured by an English squadron. Since then, it has been steadily ruled by the British. A large number of Scottish and English colonists settled on it, and the Argentines were deported. Despite this, the islands to this day continue to be the subject of a territorial dispute between the two countries. The Latin American state does not get tired of insisting on its sovereign right to the Falklands on the grounds that they previously belonged to Spain and geographically belong to the territory of Argentina.
The situation around these islands escalated on the eve of thirty years of the short but bloody Falklands War, during which the Argentines lost the battle for the ill-fated archipelago to the British. For control over it, the two states fought for about three months. But this armed conflict did not end the dispute either.
Relations between London and Buenos Aires are now too strained. The fact is that at the end of the year the British decided to strengthen their military presence on the islands. In response, Argentina, as well as its allies Uruguay and Brazil, have closed seaports to ships flying the Falkland Islands flag. In addition, the Argentines have threatened to deprive the archipelago of air links with South America, closing their airspace.
It should be noted that the Falklands have not represented any strategic value since the 1980s. At one time, they were valuable to the British, since they controlled the approach to the Strait of Magellan, through which all ships around South America followed. However, after the opening of the Panama Canal, the archipelago was not so needed. Nowadays, the Falklands are acquiring new value: oil and gas fields have been discovered on their shelf. This is what explains the next round of aggravation of relations between London and Buenos Aires.
