If anyone thought that the Falklands Island War of 1982 resolved the dispute between Argentina and the U.K., think again - the pot is boiling once again. And, as for Argentineans, the surrender of June, 1982 was a military surrender, not a surrender of their claim on the islands. For the intervening years, they haven't - and never will - given up claim to Las Malvinas which historically belonged to them.
The history and ownership of the island group is very complicated and depending on which side one listens to, the ownership question is clear-cut.
Both sides have highly presentable arguments which need arbitration, not another war. Unfortunately, both sides have taken a firm stance and neither side is willing to listen or negotiate which does not bode well for the future.
The earliest, known discovery of the Falkland Islands by Europeans was by the Dutch in 1600 but has since wavered between France, Great Britain, Spain, the United Provinces, the United States, and then back and forth between Argentina and the U.K. since 1832-33 to the present. During several periods, it was abandoned altogether although both the U.K. and Argentina left plaques stating that they still claimed ownership.
The war of 1982 taught both sides lessons they will not-soon forget.
For the Argentineans, they learned that it was not possible for them to force a military solution against the mighty U.K. The U.K. learned how vulnerable their ships were to French-made Exocet air-to-ground missiles and that their new, aluminum-hulled ships - designed to save weight and fuel - were death-traps to their crews when they caught fire.
For the British, it was also a very costly affair to assemble an entire war fleet to send half-way around the world which is not something they want to repeat.
Also, with present-day reductions in U.K. armed forces, Britain no longer has aircraft carrier capacity to launch planes necessary for such a war.
In recent months Argentina - in an effort to enforce their ownership claim - has managed to persuade some members of Mercosur to ban vessels flying the Falkland Islands' flag from using South American ports. Britain has reacted angrily and accused Argentina of being "colonialists." (Now there's irony's finest hour.) The new war of words is ratcheting up quickly and I, for one, would not rule out another "hot war" sometime in the future.
The U.K.'s main argument is that the people living on the islands have indicated their desire to remain as a British Overseas Territory whereas Argentineans' view the present-day islanders as Brits transplanted to the island which serves as a clever way to claim
ownership and to stuff the ballot-box.
Argentina's main claim is that Britain forcibly removed Argentineans from the islands in 1833 and has never foregone their sovereign claim to Las Malvinas as they are labelled on all Spanish maps.
Many South America nations now back Argentina's claim of ownership, much to the dismay of the British, and if Mercosur - an economic union - should turn into a South American military alliance, Britain would certainly be in trouble. Argentina was a pushover in the Falkland Island War of 1982, but things have changed and Britain knows this well.
Once again, observers trying to maintain an objective viewpoint in this dispute cannot help but view British claims with a jaundiced eye. The main visitors to the islands are employees of five different U.K. oil companies which are seeking oil and gas riches - thought to be 350 million barrels of crude - near the offshore islands.
Perhaps this knowledge brings us closer to the truth of Britain's true love for Islas Malvinas.
