Argentina formalizes complaint to UN, regional groups over Malvinas row

Argentina has filed complaint to international agencies over Britain’s plans for the excessive military spending on Malvinas Islands, known as the Falklands to the British.

Argentine Foreign Minister, Héctor Timerman, has submitted a letter to the United Nations' Decolonization Committee which adopted a resolution last year calling on Britain to negotiate with Argentina on the islands' status.

The letters complaining about the UK's military plans, has also been addressed to the Organization of American States (OAS), the UNASUR, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Mercosur trade bloc and the Group of 77 nations.

"Alleging a supposed, illogical Argentine threat, the United Kingdom is trying to unjustifiably increase in the already overblown military spending in the Malvinas Islands" , the ministry said in a statement.

"In the face of the obligation that weighs over both sides to find a solution to the controversy, the United Kingdom has confirmed with this announcement that it is relying on weapons and aggression”, it added.

Last week, British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon announced a £180-million (USD 268 million) defense package over 10 years to counter what he called Argentina’s continuous intimidation in the disputed South Atlantic islands.

Buenos Aires reacted immediately and called the British move “provocative” and “pre-election stunt”

“This business from Great Britain is a provocation, not just to Argentina but also to the United Nations,” Timerman said.

Some analysts call its a pre-election drama not only by Britain but Argentina which will also go to the poll later this year.

"I think that we are only a month from the British general elections in which the conservative is not leading the polls. So, why they shouldn’t bring up this Falkland-Malvinas issue. In the past Margaret Thatcher used this issue to keep the Conservatives in power. So I think a lot of these maneuvers are related to the recent elections" Isaac Bigio, a London-based Latin America Expert told Press TV.   

‘Century-old dispute’

Britain declared Malvinas as part of its overseas territories in 1833. Argentina calls it an occupation and has, time and again, challenged the British military presence in the archipelago which is about 500 km east of Argentina’s coast.  

Row over the islands turned into a bloody war in 1982. The conflict then claimed the lives of 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 Britons and three islanders.

Tensions between Argentina and the UK mounted again in 2013 after a London-backed referendum asking the islanders to decide whether to remain under the British rule. 99.8 percent people voted to remain a British territory.  The Argentine government challenged the vote calling it “a British maneuver lacking legal value”.

In 2014, the 24-nation Decolonization Committee passed a resolution by consensus calling on the UK and Argentina to negotiate a solution to their dispute over the Falkland Islands, essentially favoring Argentina's stance in the long-running feud.

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