UK firms’ oil search off Argentina declared as ‘illegal’

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/06/04/244619/oil-search/

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has declared ‘illegal’ the oil exploration by five British companies near the Falkland Islands, which Buenos Aires long has claimed as part of its territory.

The companies' activities "proved to be illegal and clandestine, as they're taking place in a sovereign area of the Argentine nation and as such fall within its specified laws and rules," President Kirchner said on her official website.

The Argentine government said earlier in mid-March that it would seek civil and criminal legal action against the UK companies exploring for oil in the region.

Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Daniel Cameron published five resolutions in Argentina's Official Bulletin declaring activities by the companies "illegal" and "clandestine."

The companies including Desire Petroleum, Falkland Oil and Gas, Rockhopper Exploration, Borders and Southern Petroleum and Argos Resources - "are not authorized by the Argentine government under law 17.319 on hydrocarbons," the resolutions read.

Britain has ruled the Falkland islands, off the coast of Argentina - called the Malvinas here - since 1833.

Thirty years after the Falklands War, tensions between Argentina and Britain are still high.

Argentina's 1982 attempt to recapture the remote islands triggered a 74-day war, which ended in a defeat for Argentina after British prime minister Margaret Thatcher sent in a naval task force to reclaim the archipelago. The conflict cost the lives of 649 Argentine and 255 British troops.

Malvinas could cost UK Latin America trade: Argentina

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/239960.html

Argentine ambassador to London Alicia Castro says Britain can damage its relations with Latin America if it refuses to hand over the “colonial enclave” of Malvinas (Falklands) to Argentina.

“It’s not an Argentinean cause, it’s a regional cause. The United Kingdom, by not wanting to have a proper dialogue with Argentina, it’s turning its back on Latin America as a whole,” Castro said.

“If Britain wants to improve is relations with Latin America, they have to settle this dispute,” she added.

The ambassador also said her country is “very happy” to have “this colonial enclave” to the south adding the islanders would be better off if Argentina ran the territory.

Her comments came as British veterans attended a memorial service in Portsmouth to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1982 war with Britain over the islands.

Currently almost all Latin American and Caribbean countries support Argentina’s sovereignty over the Malvinas.

The leading regional organizations, including Mercosur, The ALBA group and Unasur have already banned ships flying the British flag of the islands from docking at their ports.

Britain has no legal right to the Malvinas islands

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/231329.html

Britain’s deployment of nuclear weapons in response to Argentina's peaceful efforts to resolve the Malvinas issue is a grave violation of Chapter 1 Article 2(4) of the UN Charter (which prohibits the threat of force), a new report says.

According to the report, the Malvinas were terra nullius [no man’s land] when the French colonized the islands in the 18th century. They were then sold to Spain, a transfer of sovereignty which Britain recognized.

However, upon decolonization and under the principle of uti possidetis [as you possess], sovereignty should have been transferred to Argentina, which declared independence in 1816.

In 1833, Britain expelled the islands' inhabitants. Argentina's Foreign Minister Don Manuel Moreno was told by Prime Minister Palmerston that Argentina "could not reasonably have anticipated that the British government would permit any other state to exercise a right as derived from Spain which Great Britain had denied to Spain itself."

Writing in the Yale Law Journal, W Michael Reisman affirmed that "Upon acquiring independence, a former colony", i.e. Argentina, "ordinarily inherits all the territory of that colony.

This principle, enshrined in Latin America and, a century later, in Africa, would certainly appear to apply to the Falklands [Malvinas]." For Britons, the legal status of the islands is an open-and-shut case: Britain has no legal right to the islands. This has been reiterated at the General Assembly.

General Assembly Resolution 2065 (XX), adopted on 16 December 1965, "Consider[ed] ... the cherished aim of bringing to an end everywhere colonialism in all its forms, one of which covers the Falkland Islands (Malvinas)." The Resolution left it to Argentina and Britain to negotiate the issue using bilateral diplomacy. Britain violated this aspect of the Resolution. As a result, in December 1973, General Assembly Resolution 3160 (XXVIII) "Express[ed] its gratitude for the continuous efforts made by the Government of Argentina ... to facilitate the process of decolonization and to promote the well-being of the population of the island." The Resolution also "Urge[d] the Governments of Argentina [and the UK] ...to put an end to the colonial situation."

Successive British governments have not only consistently violated the Resolution, but the Chatham House journal International Affairs - like the General Assembly - acknowledged Argentina's peaceful efforts to resolve the issue (except, of course, the 1982 War, for which the previous government has apologized).

Guillermo A Makin's paper in the journal recognized that "the use of force has not been a permanent feature of the approach of the various very different Argentine political regimes to the [Malvinas] dispute."

A few years ago, the "British firm Rockhopper Exploration discovered a massive natural gas deposit - one that could be as big as 7.9 trillion cubic feet," Money Week reported.

"By 2029 there is expected to be a considerable increase in demand for energy. In particular gas will be of increasing importance as states struggle to maintain energy supplies," the Ministry of Defence explained.

"Many boundary disputes, such as those in the Arctic, Gulf of Guinea and the South Atlantic will become inextricably linked to the securing of energy supplies."

Does anyone seriously think that were it not for the oil and gas, 1,400 soldiers (around one per islander) would be deployed at a cost of £40 million a year to defend a bunch of rocks that few Britons could find on a map?

Britain will lose Las Malvinas’

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/230077.html

One of Britain’s most senior military chiefs has warned that Britain would have to surrender the sovereignty of Las Malvinas to Argentina in case a military confrontation over the islands takes place.

Former commander of the Royal Marines Major General Julian Thompson said it would be the “end of story” if Argentina decides to engage in a military confrontation as tensions between London and Buenos Aires grow stronger.

Britain has categorically ruled out the possibility of negotiations over the sovereignty of the archipelago while its military might has been questioned from within the British army.

“The Argentines have a marine brigade. They've got a parachute brigade and some good special forces. All they've got to do is get those guys on to the islands for long enough to destroy the (RAF) Typhoon jets and that's the end of it,” said Thompson in an interview with the Times.

“You have got to take your own air support with you and you can't without a carrier. End of story,” said Thompson, who was the commander of land forces in the 74-day war between Britain and Argentina in 1982.

Britain’s Royal Navy will be without an aircraft carrier until HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is supposed to be operative by 2016, enters service.

Britain’s Royal Navy will be without an aircraft carrier equipped with fighter jets for 10 years because of the rising costs of the Ministry of Defense’s (MoD) projects, reported the Telegraph on 2 March.

Furthermore, former head of the British army General Sir Michael Jackson said earlier in January that it would be “impossible” for Britain to re-colonize the islands in a worst-case scenario.

Britain ups rhetoric over Falklands

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/186754.html

The British government has threatened to use force to consolidate its claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands irrespective of how Argentina would respond.

Defence Secretary, Liam Fox was responding to comments made by Argentine president Cristina Fernandez Kirchner, in which she branded Britain "a crass colonial power in decline".

"Those in politics on the other side of the world can huff and puff but it will not change our resolve politically to retain the independence and the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands nor to come to their defence and to maintain deterrence as best we can”, Fox said.

"We have Typhoons already stationed there. We have a very clear message that we have both the naval power if necessary, and certainly an intent to ensure that the Falkland Islands are kept free and their people enjoy the liberation we fought so hard for 30 years ago", he added.

The rhetoric is yet another sign of growing hostilities between London and Buenos Aires over the issue of the Falklands, known as the Malvinas in Argentina.

Buenos Aires was boosted by the news that the United States had joined with the Organisation of American States (OAS) to request Britain negotiate over the islands. Importantly, the resolution referred to the Malvinas rather than the Falklands.

Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell sought Prime Minister David Cameron's assurance that "negotiations over the Falkland Islands with Argentina will never be acceptable to Her Majesty's government".

"As long as the Falkland Islands want to be sovereign British territory, they should remain sovereign British territory-full stop, end of story". Cameron replied.

That comment, given in the middle of a stormy PMQs session, earned a stern rebuke from the Argentine leader, who accused Cameron of "mediocrity bordering on stupidity".

"In the 21st century, Britain continues to be a crass colonial power in decline because colonialism is outdated and unjust”, she added.

"It's ridiculous to hold sovereignty of something that's 14,000 kilometres away", said Kirchner.

Former PM Margaret Thatcher won huge political support after she committed Britain to retake the Falkland Islands in the 1982 war.

Defence cuts nearly three decades later have led to concerns that Cameron may not have the option to repeat the defence now.

Return Falklands to Argentina, says Chavez to Queen

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=119229&sectionid=351020704


Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has called on Queen Elizabeth II of Britain to leave the disputed Malvinas (Falklands) Island to Argentina, saying that the time of empires have long expired.

"Look, England, how long are you going to be in Las Malvinas Queen of England, I'm talking to you... the time for empires are over, haven't you noticed? Return the Malvinas to the Argentine People," AFP quoted Chavez as saying in his weekly TV and Radio address "Alo Presidente" on Sunday.

The Latin American leader warned that in the event of a war over the island, Argentina would not be alone.

"The English are still threatening Argentina. Things have changed," Chavez continued, still addressing Queen Elizabeth II. "We are no longer in 1982. If conflict breaks out, be sure Argentina will not be alone like it was back then."

The British claim over the archipelago is "anti-historic and irrational," said Chavez, asking "why the English speak of democracy but still have a queen?"

The dispute over the Malvinas Island arose between Buenos Aires and London after Argentina found that Britain was planning drilling for oil near the islands that lie around 500 kilometers off the coast of Argentina and almost 13,000 kilometers away from the UK.

Britain deems the southern Atlantic archipelago as part of its sovereign territories, with Prime Minister Gordon Brown reportedly hinting at a possible confrontation in the event of a clash.

Earlier on Friday Chavez had also slammed the US and the UK for what he described as their 'oil hunger' that had sparked tensions over drilling plans near the Falklands or Las Malvinas.

Argentina warns UK about Falkland Islands oil

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=118017&sectionid=351020706

Argentina and the United Kingdom are about to lock horns over UK companies' oil and gas explorations plans around the Falkland Islands, or Islas Malvinas.

Buenos Aires has reiterated its rejection of oil and gas exploration programs by Britain around the south Atlantic islands and warned of the 'consequences' of such an action.

"Argentina again warns the UK about the illegality and consequences of this new unilateral action, extensive to all private actors involved, that they will be liable of future legal demands in the maximum tribunals, for the potential exploration and exploitation of Argentine resources," the South Atlantic news agency, MercoPress, quoted unnamed sources with the country's ministry of foreign affairs as saying on Friday.

Argentina's objection to the scheme comes after the UK-sponsored Falklands' government announced 'imminent' drilling around the islands by British energy contractors.

"The Falkland Islands Government is encouraged by the investment being made to establish whether there are commercial quantities of hydrocarbons in the Falklands. However, any potential revenues from exploitation will not feature in the Islands' economic planning unless and until commercially viable reserves are discovered," the announcement revealed.

Argentine authorities reacted strongly to the declaration, with Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana saying that oil exploration in 'Argentine waters' poses a direct threat to the interests of his country.

Taiana has presented a formal complaint to the British Embassy in Buenos Aires.

In his New Year address to the residents of the islands, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said, "The British Government will continue to support the development of your hydrocarbons sector, the British Government will continue to work with you on this agenda."

He also said that there are "no doubts about United Kingdom's sovereignty over the Falkland Islands."

Britain seized the Malvinas Islands from Argentina in 1833, which triggered a 73-day war in 1982 during which nearly 650 Argentines and 260 Britons were killed.

Argentina disputes UK's control of the islands and views them as part of its own territory.