Argentina’s foreign ministry stood firm by the nation’s claim to sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, hitting back at British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson after he claimed that the islands are British in a message congratulating President-elect Javier Milei on his electoral victory.

In a press release on Tuesday, the Argentine foreign ministry rejected Britain’s comments that there was “no doubt” the islands were British. The ministry noted that the dispute between Argentina and the UK over the islands’ sovereignty was formally recognized by the United Nations General Assembly in 1965, and has yet to be resolved.

Argentina and the UK fought in a war over the Malvinas islands from April to June 1982. 

Five months after the war, the UN General Assembly encouraged the countries to return to the debating table over the sovereignty dispute. Therefore, the war, which ended when Argentine troops surrendered, “did not alter the nature of the controversy, which is still ongoing, waiting for a resolution,” the foreign ministry wrote.

Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich islands is in the country’s constitution. “The recovery of those territories and full sovereignty [over them], respecting its inhabitants’ way of life […] constitute a permanent and unwavering purpose of the Argentine people.”

On Monday, Sunak’s spokesman congratulated President-elect Javier Milei on winning Sunday’s elections, and claimed that the issue of the Malvinas sovereignty “was settled decisively some time ago,” in response to Milei’s statements on the islands.

“The UK government will continue to proactively defend the Falkland Islanders’ right to self-determination,” the spokesman added.

Argentina’s position is that the self-determination argument cannot be applied in the Malvinas islands because Britain has historically controlled migration to and from the territory.

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During the presidential debate the previous week, Milei had said that the Malvinas are Argentine and described Argentina’s sovereignty over them as “non-negotiable.”

“Now we have to see how we are going to get them back. It is clear that the war option is not a solution. We had a war, which we lost, and now we have to make every effort to recover the islands through diplomatic channels.”

In September, Milei had told Radio Continental that “Argentina and the United Kingdom must reach an agreement” without overlooking the opinion of the islanders, adding that he would advocate for a solution similar to China and the UK’s 1997 Hong Kong agreement.

In March, Argentina pulled out of the “Foradori-Duncan” treaty on cooperation over the islands, which the countries signed in March 2016. In its place, Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero proposed a new bilateral agenda to begin a formal negotiation process to, among other things, discuss the islands’ sovereignty.

Editorial disclaimer

Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falklands Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald refers to the islands as the Malvinas Islands.