Milei dials up Argentina’s claim to Falklands

{"text":[[{"start":8,"text":"Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei is putting his country’s claim to the Falkland Islands back at the centre of the political agenda, as tensions between the UK and US create an opportunity for his struggling government."}],[{"start":21.08,"text":"Milei pledged in an address on Thursday to speed up construction of a naval base in the Argentine province nearest the islands and to broaden sanctions against businesses involved in nascent oil projects in the British overseas territory."}],[{"start":34.8,"text":"“The winds of change are blowing around the world in favour of our claim,” Milei said. “The UK is facing multiple migration, demographic and economic crises with no clear solution. It is clear they are on a path of decline, whereas Argentina’s future is flourishing, and we will prevail.”"}],[{"start":53.44,"text":"The speech was a change in tone for Milei, an avowed anglophile and fan of Margaret Thatcher, who has thawed relations with London since taking office in 2023, opening new channels of dialogue and even plotting a visit to the UK."}],[{"start":67.74,"text":"That approach had sparked accusations from Argentina’s leftwing Peronist opposition that Milei was soft on the country’s claim to the British overseas territory, which remains its most powerful national rallying cry."}],[{"start":80.4,"text":"But as Argentina’s economy slows and Milei’s popularity dips, his close ally Donald Trump has created an opening for him to address the criticism."}],[{"start":89.4,"text":"The US has historically recognised de facto British rule while remaining neutral on the sovereignty dispute. But on Monday, the US president suggested that stance was “one of many” foreign policy positions under review. Then, on Thursday, he told GB News the UK was “not the same country it was” when it repelled Argentina’s 1982 invasion of the islands."}],[{"start":110.76,"text":"Trump’s comment was well-timed for Milei, who is up for re-election late next year and whose government’s approval rating stood at 38 per cent in July, down from 52 per cent in January, according to pollster Casa Tres."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":121.28,"text":"“It’s the butterfly effect: Trump says some empty words there and it generates an earthquake here,” said Sergio Berensztein, a political consultant in Buenos Aires. “Milei badly needs good news to reinvigorate his leadership, and these comments are a resource he can’t afford to not use.”"}],[{"start":138.6,"text":"A British Foreign Office minister responded to Trump’s comment by saying the UK “remains unchanged” in its position that the Falklands are a British overseas territory."}],[{"start":148.86,"text":"The Falklands have long been core to Argentine identity, appearing on posters and graffiti across the country."}],[{"start":155.44,"text":"But the South American country is experiencing a moment of particularly strong nationalist sentiment in the wake of this summer’s football World Cup. A bitterly fought semi-final against England ended with the victorious Argentine players lifting a fan flag reading “the Malvinas are Argentine”, using the Spanish name for the islands. The move triggered Fifa sanctions."}],[{"start":176.04,"text":"Those passions helped fuel large protests in August that forced the government to withdraw legislation to relax Argentina’s restrictions on foreigners owning land. Protest leaders had accused Milei of being a “traitor” and “wanting to sell the country”."}],[{"start":190.6,"text":"The Falklands’ first commercial oil project, which is set to start production in 2028, has also increased pressure on Milei to show progress in the dispute."}],[{"start":199.04,"text":"“If we do not act firmly and swiftly today, in a few months they will have the material capacity to seize the oil reserves that lie beneath our sea,” Milei said on Thursday."}],[{"start":209.56,"text":"Milei is facing a potential 2027 electoral challenge from his estranged vice-president Victoria Villarruel, a pro-military activist for whom the Falklands are a flagship issue."}],[{"start":220.84,"text":"Foreign minister Pablo Quirno on Monday insisted that their “diplomatic” approach to the islands was more effective than that of Peronist governments, which he suggested was “protest for the sake of protest”."}],[{"start":231.56,"text":"“We need more concrete diplomatic actions . . . to defend ourselves from unilateral actions by the UK to exploit our natural resources,” he said."}],[{"start":241.32,"text":"Milei’s increased dialogue with London has yielded few concrete results so far. A 2024 agreement to re-establish direct flights from Argentina to the islands has yet to be implemented."}],[{"start":252.52,"text":"Separate informal talks between defence officials, through which Buenos Aires hoped to lift the UK’s restrictions on British arms sales to Argentina, have stalled amid repeated leadership changes at Milei’s foreign ministry, which needed to give approval for the talks."}],[{"start":267.96,"text":"Milei also has yet to schedule a visit to London that his officials began discussing this year."}],[{"start":273.22,"text":"Trump’s comments — which came in response to reporters’ questions — could be designed to pressure the UK over policy disagreements around Nato, after a US state department memo leaked in April proposed the islands as a source of leverage over London."}],[{"start":287.6,"text":"The state department did not immediately respond to a request for comment."}],[{"start":291.6,"text":"But hope has also grown in Argentina of a more fundamental shift in US policy amid Trump’s intensified engagement with Latin America and rising tensions with China."}],[{"start":301.48,"text":"Fabián Calle, of the Argentine Council on International Relations, said the US wants more “stability and predictability” in the south Atlantic, whose proximity to Antarctica and the Magellan Strait gives it strategic importance."}],[{"start":314,"text":"“Great Britain cannot police the south Atlantic . . . it lacks the necessary clout for a bipolar world where China is projecting its presence across the global sea,” he said, calling for US-brokered talks between Argentina and the UK."}],[{"start":332.38,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1788490604_3059.mp3"}