Argentinian firebrand Javier Milei is right about one thing: British sovereignty of the Falklands must end | Simon Jenkins
GuardianJUL 2023
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Above: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Argentine President Javier Milei at the G20 Summit on Nov. 18, 2024. Image copyright: Pablo Porciuncula/AFP/Getty Images
The Spin
Left narrative
A rapprochement between Argentina and the U.K. is very good news as this should be a first step toward the end of British sovereignty of the tiny South Atlantic archipelago that dragged both countries into war more than 40 years ago. The fierce and costly possession of inconsequential islands has become an embarrassment, representing an unnecessary risk to British interests abroad.
Right narrative
Some people have come to believe that the U.K. may betray the Falklands now that a deal has been reached to hand over Chagos Islands to Mauritius, but these two issues are completely different as the South Atlantic archipelago never had an indigenous population before British settlement in the 1830s, and British parties are unanimous in their support to the Falklands. If anything, this rapprochement shows Argentina has other priorities.