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LONDON — The governor of the Falkland Islands has sought to calm concerns over the territory’s sovereignty following the UK’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands.
The UK has agreed to give up ownership of the tropical archipelago to Mauritius, after decades of often fractious negotiations.
In light of the move, Argentina has renewed its vow to gain full sovereignty of the Falklands, with its foreign minister promising “concrete action” to ensure the islands are handed to Buenos Aires.
But in an attempt to assuage the fears of people on another strategically-important group of islands, Falklands Governor Alison Blake said the legal and historical context of the two territories are “very different”.
The UK commitment to the South Atlantic territory’s sovereignty is “unwavering” and “remains undiminished”, she said in a statement posted to social media.
In the message to residents, she said: “I would like to reassure you that the legal and historical contexts of the Chagos Archipelago and the Falkland Islands are very different.
“UK ministers have been very clear throughout the process that the UK will not agree to anything that runs the risk of jeopardizing sovereignty in other Overseas Territories.
“The UK government remains committed to defending the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination, and the UK’s unwavering commitment to defend UK sovereignty remains undiminished.”
But Argentina’s foreign minister, Diana Mondino welcomed the step taken by Sir Keir Starmer’s Government on Thursday towards ending “outdated practices” after the UK announced the decision to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
In a post on X, referring to the Falklands, she said: “Following the path we have already taken, with concrete actions and not empty rhetoric, we will recover full sovereignty over our Malvinas Islands.
“The Malvinas were, are and will always be Argentine.”
The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean. Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the islands.
Argentina invaded in 1982 in a bid to reclaim sovereignty and said it had inherited the Falkland Islands from Spain in the 1800s.
A brief but bitter war lasting 74 days followed – with 655 Argentinian, 255 British and three Falkland deaths – before British forces regained control on 14 June 1982.
Gov Blake’s announcement came after a deal which, after years of negotiations, saw the UK hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
This includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, used by the US government as a highly-secretive military base for its warships and long-range bombers.
The treaty will also “address wrongs of the past and demonstrate the commitment of both parties to support the welfare of Chagossians”, according to a joint statement from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. — BBC
