UK prime minister warns he will be ‘relentless’ in defense of Malvinas islanders

The United Kingdom prime minister, Andy Burnham, said his government will be “relentless” in defending the “right” of the Malvinas Islands’ inhabitants to “choose to be British.”

“We will always respect the rights of the Falkland Islanders to choose to be British,” Burnham said during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

“That will never change under this government, and we will be relentless in defending that,” Burnham added.

His comments came after Argentine President Javier Milei said in a televised message to the nation on Thursday that the Malvinas Islands’ inhabitants do not have a right to self-determination. 

It was the first time Milei said so. In the past, he had expressed his wish that the archipelago’s inhabitants would “choose to be Argentine” and stated: “We cannot overlook the opinion of the islanders.”

On Monday the Argentine government filed a criminal lawsuit against five oil and gas exploration companies linked to Navitas Petroleum, the Israeli firm leading the Sea Lion oil development project off the coast of Malvinas.

The Libertarian leader also announced sanctions that affect Navitas Petroleum and its partner, British Rockhopper Exploration, as well as their investors and shareholders, among others.

Chagos Islands dispute

Burnham made his comments on the Malvinas after Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch claimed Argentina made the announcements because of “weak” decisions regarding defense and sovereignty over the Chagos Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean considered a British Overseas Territory.

According to Badenoch, Argentina became aware of a plan to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and felt encouraged to escalate its sovereignty claim over the Malvinas.

“They smell weakness,” Badenoch accused.

You may also be interested in: Milei’s history with Malvinas, from admiring Thatcher to defending sovereignty

Editorial disclaimer: Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falklands Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald uses “Malvinas” to refer to the islands.