British Foreign Secretary Cameron visits Falkland Islands
Published: Tuesday, Feb 20th 2024, 10:10
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During a visit to the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic, the British Foreign Secretary assured the inhabitants of the British Overseas Territory of his government's support. The archipelago a few hundred kilometers off the tip of South America has also been claimed by Argentina for decades.
As long as the Falkland Islands wanted to be part of the "British family", they were welcome and London would contribute to their protection and defense, Cameron said on Monday evening (local time) in the island's capital Stanley. "And I hope that remains the case for a very, very long time, possibly forever."
It was the first visit to the Falkland Islands by a member of the British government since then Defense Secretary Michael Fallon in 2016. The last Foreign Secretary to travel to the islands was Douglas Hurd in 1994.
The islands have been under British administration since 1833. Argentina attacked the islands in 1982. According to historians, the Argentinian military junta in power at the time wanted to use the attack as a distraction from the increasing domestic political problems. After the Argentine armed forces suffered a series of defeats during the 72-day war, both sides signed a ceasefire. A total of 649 Argentines, 255 British and 3 islanders lost their lives in the conflict.
During his visit, Cameron laid a wreath at a British military cemetery and at the memorial in Stanley. "In the Falkland Islands, I paid my respects to those who lost their lives during the 1982 conflict. We will never forget the incredible efforts of the British Armed Forces," Cameron wrote on the messaging platform X, formerly Twitter. The former Prime Minister met with residents in the village of Goose Green. Argentine troops had held dozens of people prisoner in the community center there for weeks during the war.
Argentina continues to lay claim to the islands, which are known as the Malvinas. In 2013, the inhabitants of the islands voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining part of Great Britain. Following the discovery of oil and gas deposits around the islands, the conflict has intensified again.
Cameron met with the new Argentinian President Javier Milei on the fringes of the World Economic Forum in Davos. In Stanley, the minister said that London wanted good relations with Buenos Aires. "But this will never be at the expense of the wishes of the Falklanders, who we believe are absolutely paramount in this matter." Cameron wanted to visit a penguin colony on Tuesday and then travel on to Paraguay.
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