The decision by certain South American countries to close their ports to Falkland Islands boats is the latest move in an Argentinian campaign to isolate the British territory, Lord West warns.
Former Labour security minister Lord West told Channel 4 News the decision to close boats from the Falklands was the latest in a series of measures that Argentina has been taking which aim at cutting off the Falkland Islands “to make it more difficult for them to deal with the outside world”.
The former sea lord suggested this was almost certainly to do with the oil drilling in the seas around the Falklands
Lord West warned that 30 years ago the British had taken a decision to get rid of HMS Endurance, which was taken as a symbol by the Argentinians that the UK was not going to look after its people in the Falkland Islands. “We must be very careful not to let that happen again,” he said.
“Sovereignty is not on the table here,” he told Cathy Newman, “and they (the Argentinians) should have a dialogue with the Falkland Islanders. That’s the way to move forward in the sort of world we’re in now.”
The South American trading bloc, Mercosur – which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay – made its decision at a summit at the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo.
Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the island, which is only 400 miles from its coastline, and fought a bloody war with Britain over the area in 1982. However Britain has held the Falklands since the 1830s.
The move was proposed by Uruguay, and Uruguayan president Jose Mujica said that solidarity between South America’s neighbours was key to his country’s foreign policy.
“For the moment, this means accepting that this territory is a colonial British position in our America,” he added.
British-flagged civilian ships that may supply the islands, will be allowed to use its ports, but not military vessels.
The move by Mercosur is the latest in a series of decisions by Latin American bodies to show solidarity with Argentina, which calls the islands Las Malvinas.
Only last week Uruguay banned ships flying the Falkland Islands flag from its ports. The British Foreign Office responded by calling on Uruguay’s ambassador in London to explain the decision.
Roger Spink, president of the Falklands Chamber of Commerce, said that the small island community felt increasingly under blockade.
“If we were Palestine, the European Union would be up in arms,” he added.