Argentina’s eyes light up over Falklands as Britain gives away one overseas territory

Argentina vowed Thursday to “recover” the Falkland Islands from Britain, after the U.K. government gave up control of a different archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

“With concrete actions and not empty rhetoric, we will recover full sovereignty over our Malvinas Islands. The Malvinas [the Spanish name] were, are and will always be Argentine,” Buenos Aires’ Foreign Minister Diana Mondino wrote Thursday night.

Britain and Argentina fought a war in 1982 over the Falkland Islands, which are situated in the south Atlantic Ocean. Argentine forces invaded the Falklands, before surrendering to Britain two and a half months later after hundreds of combatants were killed on both sides. The islands have remained a source of tension between London and Buenos Aires ever since.

Mondino’s remarks come after the British government agreed to pass sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on Thursday, in return for securing the future of a strategically important military base.

Mauritius will take over sovereignty of the archipelago, situated roughly halfway between East Africa and Indonesia, while a joint U.S.-U.K. military base will continue to operate on Diego Garcia, the largest island, for at least the next 99 years.

“The long dispute between Britain and Mauritius came to a conclusion today, with Mauritians successfully regaining their territory of Chagos,” Mondino wrote. “We welcome this step in the right direction and the end to outdated practices.”

Earlier Thursday, however, Falklands Governor Alison Blake sent a message to island residents, who number fewer than 4,000, reassuring them of the U.K.’s “unwavering commitment” to the islands and describing the historical context of the two territories as “very different.”

“The U.K. Government remains committed to defending the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination, and the U.K.’s unwavering commitment to defend U.K. sovereignty remains undiminished,” Blake said.