Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said he hopes Falkland Islands would want to be part of the UK “forever” as he visited the British overseas territory on Monday.
Argentina has sought to resume talks on the Falklands, over which Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982, but Lord Cameron has said that sovereignty of the archipelago “will not be up for discussion” as long as the islands’ inhabitants want to remain British.
“As long as the Falkland Islands want to be part of the UK family, they are absolutely welcome to be that, to be part of that family,” the foreign secretary told reporters on Monday during his visit to the Falklands.
“And we will support them, and back them and help protect and defend them, absolutely, as far as I’m concerned, for as long as they want. And I hope that’s for a very, very long time, possibly forever.”
The foreign secretary added that the UK wants to “have good relations with Buenos Aires.
“The new government, I think, have taken some positive steps and we'll have good relations with them. But it will never be at the expense of the wishes of the Falkland Islanders,” he told reporters.
The Falklands, known as Islas Malvinas in Argentina, are about 8,000 miles from Britain and 300 miles from mainland Argentina.
The territory enjoys self-governance while a UK-appointed governor retains responsibility for issues such as defence and foreign affairs.
Argentina has been continuously claiming sovereignty over the islands in the South Atlantic, over which Argentina lost a war to Britain in 1982.
The war claimed the lives of 255 British servicemen, three islanders and 649 Argentine personnel.
Mr. Milei suggested last year that the UK should approach the issue in a similar way to the handover of Hong Kong to Beijing in 1997.
Last month, the UK said Lord Cameron and the Argentine president agreed to disagree over the issue at the World Economic Forum, alluding to a referendum in 2013 in which almost all of the 3,500 residents opted to remain under British rule.
Lord Cameron is the first British foreign minister to visit the Falkland Islands since 1994 and the first cabinet minister to visit the islands since 2016.
On Monday, he paid respects at a memorial in Port Stanley to those who died in the Falklands War.
He was hoping to meet some of the islands’ most famous residents on Tuesday when he visits an area famed for its penguin colonies, before leaving for Paraguay, where he will be the first UK foreign secretary to ever visit the country.
Lord Cameron is then set to visit Brazil for a G20 summit and New York for the United Nations.
In an unexpected turn of events, Chinese internet trolls, animated by anger towards Argentine football star Lionel Messi, recently weighed in on the issue in Britain’s favour.
It comes after Messi was accused of snubbing the authorities and fans in Hong Kong.
On Feb. 4, Messi sat on the bench during a match in Hong Kong, disappointing fans, some of whom paid record-high prices for the match to see him.
He was also filmed walking away while the team lined up to shake hands with Hong Kong’s Chief Executive John Lee, leading to speculations that he didn’t want to appease the pro-Beijing leader.
Messi later said he sat on the bench because of injuries, but pro-Beijing lawmakers and media in Hong Kong, as well as other Chinese state-controlled media accused the football star of disrespecting Hong Kong, and alleged “external forces” plotted to embarrass Hong Kong.
It’s common for celebrities who intentionally or accidentally “insulted China,” meaning they have embarrassed the authorities or stepped over som other invisible red lines, to be mobbed by internet users, who are often responding to commentaries from state-owned media.
Shortly after the match, angry netizens demanded Messi’s sponsors drop him. Some also decided to take Britain’s side over the Falkland Islands to annoy Argentina, leaving comments saying the Islands are “an inalienable part of the UK” under the Argentine embassy’s social media account.
