Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Argentine oceanic claim may ruffle British feathers

Great Britain and Argentina have not seen eye-to-eye over the Falklands Islands and the Antarctic. Their conflict could worsen after Argentine officials laid claim to a vast seabed area over the Atlantic Ocean.

The international Law of the Sea grants countries “certain rights” when it can demonstrate that its continental shelf extends beyond the established 200-mile limit. Argentina's 650,000 square mile claim handed to U.N. diplomats yesterday would be within the limit yet includes the British-occupied Falkland Islands and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.

Argentine officials have stood by the claim and are anticipating the British response:
Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said the documents were the culmination of 11 years of research and diplomatic effort to prove the size of Argentina´s sovereign territory.

He also said that if the United Kingdom wished to present its own claim to the continental platform around the disputed Falkland islands - or Malvinas islands, as they are known locally - Argentina would object formally.
In 1982, Britain and Argentina fought in the Falklands War which left over 900 soldiers dead.

Image- Marketplace (“Argentina's Falklands war veterans, and national and local authorities pay respects to the fallen” in 2007.)
Online Sources- BBC News, Wikipedia, abc.net.au, The Latin Americanist

2 comments:

Norafem said...

Well, this claim is the end process of the last manoever by Argentine officials. After the snub suffered by Cristina Kirschner at the hands of Mr Brown in Chile, there has to be something to raise national self-esteem in the land of the pampas. With so many local disappointments, and the Malvinas cause getting to be a chronic frustration, this legalistic way is their next show of power without real power behind.
There is no great expectation in getting real results with this presentation, but it confirms internally the national self-image. Which is a consolation prize like any other....
www.falklands-malvinas.com/forum

Pablo de Córdoba said...

Lamentablemente, la noticia ni siquiera llegó a las primeras páginas de los diarios