The Falklands dispute: What’s it got to do with Israel and the US?

The Falklands dispute: What’s it got to do with Israel and the US? Submitted by Daniel Tester on Fri, 09/04/2026 - 15:00 Argentina claims sovereignty over the British territory - and the dispute is extending beyond the South Atlantic Argentinian war veterans commemorate the Falklands War, including with an Argentine flag that reads 'We'll be back', Ushuaia, southern Argentina, 2 April 2007 (AFP) Off Argentina has restated its claim to sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, a small rocky archipelago in the South Atlantic that is owned by the UK . Javier Milei, the far-right president of Argentina, said in a national address on Thursday that the "winds of change" favoured his country’s claim to the islands, and threatened sanctions on oil firms that seek to drill in the territory’s waters. "We need to recover these islands which are nationally relevant," he said. The announcement comes days after US President Donald Trump suggested that he is reviewing the US position on UK sovereignty, known in Argentina as Las Islas Malvinas. “I always review every position - that’s just one of many,” Trump told reporters in the White House. “The UK’s got some problems, but they’ll get solved." The future of the sparsely inhabited islands has been speculated on for months amid tensions between Washington and London about UK military commitments, including the war on Iran . Argentina and the UK went to war over the Falklands in 1982, resulting in more than 900 dead. Tension has simmered since, fuelled in recent weeks not only by Trump's mercurial approach to foreign policy but also by increasing tension between Israel and London. Where and what are the Falklands? The Falkland Islands are a rocky archipelago around 500km off the coast of Argentina. They consist of two main islands and nearly 800 smaller ones, and are altogether roughly the size of Connecticut or half that of Wales. The British dependency is home to around 3,600 people, the vast majority of whom are of British descent and live around the capital, Stanley (it has never had an indigenous population). There is a sizable military presence following the war of 1982. An aerial view of Stanley, Falkland Islands, the archipelago’s largest settlement, in October 2019 (AFP) The British made the first recorded landing on the islands in 1690. The French claimed the main eastern island in 1764, with the British taking the western island in 1765, only to be driven out by the Spanish in 1770. When Spain was forced from what is now Argentina in 1816, the new successor government claimed sovereignty of the Falklands, which was formalised in 1820. But the British returned in 1833, drove out the Argentinians and have occupied the islands since. In 2013, the islands voted by 99.8 percent to remain British. Just three voted against. The terrain of the islands is sparse, and most food has to be imported. The economy is mostly based around fishing, primarily squid, and tourism, driven by the huge numbers of penguins and other wildlife. What was the Falklands War? After more than a century of disputing British claims to the territory and a rejected attempt to buy the islands in 1953, Argentina invaded the Falklands in 1982 . The move came amid waning support for Argentina’s right-wing military dictatorship, led by Leopoldo Galtieri, which was responsible for thousands of executions, disappearances and human rights abuses during the period known as the Dirty War . Argentina first landed a small covert force on South Georgia, more than 1,400km south-east of the Falklands, before a larger force seized the islands themselves in the early hours of 2 April. Within three days, UK PM Margaret Thatcher dispatched a British naval task force amid much patriotism to the South Atlantic to reclaim the islands. The US, a longtime ally of both the UK and Argentina, initially declined Thatcher’s requests for military support and instead stayed neutral, advocating that the UK agree to share the islands with Argentina. The US later supplied munitions and gave logistical support to the UK military. The war lasted 74 days until British forces surrounded Stanley and forced an ill-equipped Argentine military to surrender. By then, the military dead numbered 649 Argentine, 255 British and three Falkland Islanders. The biggest loss of life was on board the Argentine warship General Belgrano, sunk by a British nuclear submarine despite being outside the military exclusion zone set by the British government. The attack was deemed a war crime by some Argentine commentators, leading to criticism of Thatcher at home and abroad. What has happened since then? In the UK, the victory was viewed as a success and ushered in Thatcher’s re-election the following year. Seeking to reinforce the archipelago against potential future invasions, the UK increased the military presence on the islands, including an air base at Mount Pleasant. In Argentina, Galtieri was driven from office and the junta deposed. Two RAF Tornado F3 fighters flying over the Falkland Islands in 2007 (Creative Commons/Ministry of Defence) Relations between the two countries gradually warmed over the next two decades, with Argentinian President Carlos Menem visiting London in 1998 and UK PM Tony Blair welcomed in Buenos Aires in 2001. But by 2012, reports suggested UK PM David Cameron and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the Argentine president, were arguing about the islands on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Mexico. How does Argentina see the islands? In Argentina, Las Malvinas is a hot topic, with its sovereignty claim baked into the constitution in 1994. Many Argentines see the islands’ status as an outdated relic of Britain’s colonial past, given the archipelago’s proximity. Argentina also claims sovereignty over South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands , where just 30 people reside. Control of the islands would be a populist boon to any Argentine president, and likely help the beleaguered economy by affording it fishing rights in the Falklands’ 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. Even more tempting would be control of mineral rights in the waters that surround the islands. In 2010, the UK handed rights to a UK-Israeli consortium to exploit a vast deepwater oil field north of the Falklands that is set to produce oil from 2028, generating an estimated $4bn for the islands. A mural depicting Argentine football legend Diego Maradona and Argentine soldiers in the Falklands War, in Buenos Aires, on 14 July 2026 (AFP) After his 2023 election, Milei initially appeared to soften on sovereignty compared to his predecessors amid a failed attempt to end the UK’s 40-year arms embargo on Argentina. But he has since become more robust, emboldened by the return of right-wing ally Donald Trump in 2025, and telling domestic media in April that gaining sovereignty of the islands was “non-negotiable”. “THE MALVINAS WERE, ARE, AND WILL ALWAYS BE ARGENTINE,” he posted on X later that month. Calling for the islands to become Argentinian is also popular in wider society. Argentina’s national football team have sometimes held up banners supporting the campaign, most recently after they beat England in the World Cup semi-finals in July, a move that drew condemnation from Fifa and the UK. What have the Falklands got to do with Israel? A UK subsidiary of Israel’s Navitas Petroleum holds the largest stake to exploit oil discovered in the Falklands’ territorial waters, dubbed the Sea Lion field. The area has been estimated to hold at least 231m barrels of oil, which would make it around a third of the size of the UK’s largest North Sea oilfield. This drilling has cast a shadow on Israeli-Argentine relations, with Argentina pausing in January its controversial promise to move its embassy to Jerusalem over the issue. But Milei and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have maintained close ties throughout Israel’s genocide in Gaza , where it has killed over 73,000 Palestinians. After Netanyahu declared Israeli support for Argentina throughout this summer’s World Cup, the far-right Israeli ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir taunted England over its loss to Lionel Messi’s side. (The UK sanctioned both Smotrich and Ben Gvir in 2025.) HMS Broadsword, left, pictured here with the aircraft carrier HMS Hermes, was hit during the Falklands War by aircraft sold by Israel to Argentina (Creative Commons/Ministry of Defence) Even Netanyahu’s son, Yair Netanhyhu, has weighed in , suggesting that the islands should belong to Argentina. “Britain is currently a hostile country and Argentina is a friendly country,” he said . Relations between Israel and Argentina were strong during the 1980s, when Israel sold arms to Argentina during and after the war, despite protests from London, including military aircraft used to attack British troops and vessels. Declassified Israeli government files reveal that Menachem Begin, then Israeli prime minister, viewed the sales as a bargaining chip with the UK to halt its own arms sale to Arab countries hostile to Israel. What about the US and the Falklands? The US has traditionally said it is neutral on the Falklands, recognising British sovereignty but going no further. US support for Argentina’s claim on the islands would be a diplomatic disaster for London, and significantly worsen the UK and US “special relationship”, which has become fragile under Trump. It would also raise doubts about whether the US would back the UK in the event of another Argentine invasion, despite the UK being a Nato member that the US is obliged to support if it is invaded under Article 5 . US President Donald Trump and Argentina's President Javier Milei at the White House in Washington on 14 October 2025 (AFP) This is significant for the UK, which has long depended on US military backing and which has a relatively weaker military than the one it marshalled in 1982 to crush Argentina’s invasion. Under Trump, the US has used recognition of allies’ sovereignty claims as a diplomatic bargaining chip. In 2020, for instance, during Trump’s first term, the US recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara , a disputed territory that the UN regards as occupied by Morocco , ahead of the US-brokered Abraham Accords, which saw Rabat recognise Israel. Another potential complication is the race to become the next UN secretary-general , in which Milei’s nominee, the Argentinian diplomat Rafael Grossi, is currently a candidate. If victorious in October’s selection process, Grossi could up the ante around the islands within the organisation, where Argentina called for negotiations over the archipelago in June. Latin America Explainers Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:29 Update Date Override 0