Argentina criticise British military drills in Malvinas

The Argentinean government denounced Britain for holding military exercises in the disputed Malvinas Islands, known to the British as the Falklands.Argentina's Foreign Ministry has found out that the British government plans to carry out new military exercises from April 15 to 26 in occupied Argentinean territory, including missile launches from the Malvinas Islands," an official statement said.The planned drills "are a new show of contempt from Britain for the resolutions of the United Nations, which call for both sides to resume negotiations on sovereignty and to abstain from introducing unilateral changes to the situation as long as the dispute continues, as well as a new provocation against Argentina," said the ministry, Xinhua reported.The Argentinean government "has shown its willingness to find a peaceful and definitive solution to the dispute through bilateral negotiation with Britain, keeping in mind the interests of island residents, in keeping with the United Nations mandate," the ministry added.Given Argentina's repeated call for talks, the government "once again condemns Britain's insistence on carrying out military exercises" in a region that is free of nuclear arms, the ministry said.Britain's actions "confirm that only through military might does it justify its presence in the South Atlantic, reflecting its contempt for the declarations of the international community," the ministry said.Argentina has told Britain "its most energetic protest" against the planned military exercises, "demanding that it abstain from carrying them out," the ministry said.Argentina has also alerted various international and regional agencies, including the UN, the International Maritime Organization, Mercosur, CELAC and Unasur, the ministry said.The long-running territorial dispute led the two nations to a war in 1982. The 74-day conflict ended with Argentina's defeat after it failed to recover the islands from British control.Britain has steadfastly refused to hold talks on the islands, arguing that the islanders, mainly descendants of English settlers, want to remain under the British rule.To support its stance, Britain helped organize a March 10-11 referendum in which 99.8 percent of islanders voted to preserve their status as a British Overseas Territory.Argentina did not recognize the outcome, saying the referendum of British "transplants" does not reflect legitimate self-determination.The 1982 Malvinas War resulted in the deaths of 649 Argentinean soldiers, 255 British fighters and three islanders.