{"id":335413,"date":"2026-09-04T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T09:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/breaking-news\/uk-replies-to-milei-falklands-are-british-because-islanders-choose-to-be-british.html"},"modified":"2026-09-04T09:00:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T09:00:06","slug":"uk-replies-to-milei-falklands-are-british-because-islanders-choose-to-be-british","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/breaking-news\/uk-replies-to-milei-falklands-are-british-because-islanders-choose-to-be-british.html","title":{"rendered":"UK replies to Milei: Falklands \u201care British because islanders choose to be British\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

UK replies to Milei: Falklands \u201care British because islanders choose to be British\u201d<\/h2>\n
\n

\u0093Milei’s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands,\u0094 Streeting wrote on the social network X<\/span> <\/figure>\n

Britain’s Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, responded on Friday to Argentine President Javier Milei’s address on the Falklands by stating that the United Kingdom’s commitment to the archipelago is \u201cabsolute and unshakeable.\u201d It was the first public reaction from the British government following the televised national address in which Milei announced sanctions against oil companies operating in the area without Argentine authorization.<\/p>\n

\u0093Milei’s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands,\u0094 Streeting wrote on the social network X. \u0093The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British. Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unshakeable.\u0094<\/p>\n

\n

Milei\u2019s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands.<\/p>\n

\nThe Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British.<\/p>\n

\nOur commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unshakeable\u00a0 \u00a0pic.twitter.com\/pi0xd7OhYS<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting) September 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In his message on Thursday night, Milei maintained that the archipelago is Argentine \u0093historically and legally\u0094 and said that \u0093the islanders on their usurped territory do not have a legitimate right to self-determination and any argument on any such self-determination is invalid.\u0094 The president added that the islands \u0093are our future\u0094 and that Argentina \u0093needs to recover these islands.\u0094<\/p>\n

Milei also announced a decree to speed up the sanctions provided for under Law 26,659 against companies involved in hydrocarbon extraction in the disputed area, extending them to shareholders, directors and suppliers. He described the Sea Lion field, operated by Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum, as a \u0093clear and present danger.\u0094 Production is expected to begin in 2028.<\/p>\n

The address came after US President Donald Trump declined to commit his country’s backing for the United Kingdom in any future conflict over the islands. Asked by broadcaster GB News, Trump recalled the 1982 war, said the British \u0093comported yourselves very well\u0094 and took the islands back \u0093pretty strongly,\u0094 but added that it is \u0093a long way away, that’s a big trip.\u0094 He also faulted London for not supporting Washington in the war with Iran: \u0093Your country was not there to help me.\u0094 Trump made no commitment either way. The United States is formally neutral in the dispute, although it provided support to Britain during the 1982 campaign.<\/p>\n

Hours before the address, US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers posted a photograph with Milei on X, captioned \u0093exciting things are happening in the Western Hemisphere.\u0094<\/p>\n

Downing Street said earlier this week that the British position is \u0093long-standing and unwavering,\u0094 that sovereignty rests with the United Kingdom and that the islanders’ right to self-determination is \u0093paramount.\u0094<\/p>\n

In the 2013 referendum, monitored by observers from six countries, island residents voted 99.8% in favor of retaining British Overseas Territory status, with three votes against. Argentina does not recognize that vote.<\/p>\n

The Falkland Islands Government had not commented on the address at the time of publication. Former Legislative Assembly member Teslyn Barkman told the BBC from Stanley that the message had \u0093probably irked every single Falkland islander.\u0094<\/p>\n

Article source: https:\/\/en.mercopress.com\/2026\/09\/04\/uk-replies-to-milei-falklands-are-british-because-islanders-choose-to-be-british?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_content=international&utm_campaign=rss<\/a>\r\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UK replies to Milei: Falklands \u201care British because islanders choose to be British\u201d \u0093Milei’s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands,\u0094 Streeting wrote on the social network X Britain’s Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, responded on Friday to Argentine President Javier Milei’s address on the Falklands […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[13],"class_list":["post-335413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=335413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/335413\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=335413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=335413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usa.timesofnews.com\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=335413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}