Post War
Following the 1982 war, the British increased their presence in the Falkland Islands. RAF Mount Pleasant was constructed. This allowed fighter jets to be based on the islands and strengthened the UK's ability to reinforce the Islands at short notice. The military garrison was substantially increased and a new garrison was established on South Georgia. The Royal Navy South Atlantic patrol was strengthened to include both HMS Endurance and a Falkland Islands guard ship.
As well as this military build-up, the UK also passed the British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983, which granted full British citizenship to the islanders. To show British commitment to the islands, high-profile British dignitaries visited the Falklands, including Margaret Thatcher, the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra, The Hon Lady Ogilvy. The UK has also pursued links to the islands from Chile, which had provided help to British Forces during the Falklands War. LAN now provides a direct air link to Chile from Mount Pleasant.
In 1985 the Falkland Islands Dependencies, comprising at that time the island groups of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, and Shag Rocks and Clerke Rocks, became a distinct British overseas territory — South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
Under the 1985 constitution the Falkland Islands Government (FIG) became a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, with the governor as head of government and representative of the Queen. Members of the FIG are democratically elected, the Governor is effectively a figurehead. Theoretically the Governor has the power under the 1985 constitution to exercise executive authority, in practice he is obliged to consult the Executive Council in the exercise of his functions. The main responsibilities of the Governor are external affairs and public services. Effectively under this constitution, the Falkland Islands are self-governing with the exception of foreign policy, although the FIG represents itself at the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonisation as the British Government no longer attends.
Relations between the UK and Argentina remained hostile following 1982, and diplomatic relations were not restored until 1989. Although the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the UK and Argentina to return to negotiations over the Islands' future, the UK ruled out any further talks over the Islands' sovereignty. The UK also maintained an arms embargo against Argentina that was initiated during the 1982 war, which forced Argentine armed forces, traditionally a UK buyer, to switch to other markets.
Relations improved further in the 1990s between the UK and Argentina. In 1998, Carlos Menem, the President of Argentina visited London, where he reaffirmed his country's claims to the Islands, although he stated that Argentina would use only peaceful means for their recovery. In 2001, Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom visited Argentina where he stated that he hoped the UK and Argentina could resolve their differences that led to the 1982 war. However, no talks on sovereignty took place during the visit and Argentina's President Néstor Kirchner stated that he regarded gaining sovereignty over the islands as a 'top priority' of his government.
Argentina renewed claims in June 2006 citing concern over fishing and petroleum rights, amid concern when Britain changed from annually granting fishing concessions, to granting a 25 year concession. On 28 March 2009, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated that there was “nothing to discuss” with Cristina Kirchner, the Argentine president, over sovereignty of the islands, when they met in Chile on his pre-2009 G-20 London Summit world tour. On 22 April 2009 Argentina made a formal claim to the UN to an area of the continental shelf encompassing the Falklands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, and parts of Antarctica, citing 11 years worth of maritime survey data. The UK quickly protested these claims.
In February 2010, in response to British plans to begin drilling for oil, the Argentine government announced that ships travelling to the Falklands (as well as South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands) would require a permit to use Argentine territorial waters. The British and Falkland governments stated that this announcement did not affect the waters surrounding the islands. Despite the new restrictions, Desire Petroleum began drilling for oil on 22 February, about 54 nautical miles (100 km, 62 mi) north of the Islands.
In 2011 the Mercosur bloc agreed to close ports to ships flying the Falkland Islands flags, while British-flagged ships would continue to be allowed.
Read more about this topic: Falkland Islands Sovereignty Dispute
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