Argentina Violates British Sovereignty in the South Atlantic
- Feb 17, 2010
- Michael Streich
At 6:00 AM on April 2, 1982, Argentina, under the leadership of a right-wing dictatorship, invaded the Falklands Islands with two landing forces, seizing Port Stanley and violating British sovereignty. The islands had been part of the British community since 1833 and the invasion was termed a matter of “great gravity” by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. According to Thatcher, “British sovereign territory has been invaded by a foreign power.”
Why Argentina Invaded the Falklands
The Argentine military junta, led by General Leopoldo Galtieri, used the invasion to divert public concern from a weakening economy and criticism of human rights violations. Since 1978, an arms embargo by the United States, in tandem with new foreign policy objectives of the Carter administration, had further exacerbated Argentine objectives. This embargo was lifted in December 1981 during the Reagan administration and pushed through the US Congress by NC Senator Jesse Helms, a supporter of authoritarian regimes as a means to “keep communism out of this hemisphere.”
Confrontations and Public Opinion in the Falklands War
The Falkland Islands are only 400 miles from Argentina in the South Atlantic but over 8,000 miles from the British Isles. Despite earlier efforts by Argentina to claim the Falklands or Malvinas Islands as the Argentines called the island group, the inhabitants’ loyalties were with Britain. According to Prime Minister Thatcher, in an April 3rd speech to Parliament, the people of the islands did not want to be Argentines. Thus, the primary goal of the government was to pursue a policy freeing the islands “of occupation.” The “lawful” British government “had been usurped.”
Events leading to the invasion of the Falklands may well have begun in South Georgia Island, a dependency of the Falklands and claimed by Britain since 1775 when it was discovered by Captain Cook. On March 19, 1982, an Argentine warship arrived at S. Georgia and landed fifty men, ostensibly to threaten the British scientific station at the Antarctic base. Under British protests, most of the men were withdrawn.
Despite a February 1982 New York meeting between Argentine and British diplomats seeking a solution to the Falklands debate, newspapers in Buenos Aires printed inflammatory and “bellicose” stories regarding British claims to the Falklands, a harbinger of Argentine government policies regarding the disputed island group. According to Thatcher, however, the February talks were “constructive…cordial and positive…” and paved the way toward future negotiations.
The Argentine Invasion April 2, 1982 of the Falklands Islands
The British government was aware that the Argentine fleet had put to sea in the hours before the invasion. On March 28th, in a response to British inquiries, the Argentine Foreign Minister reasserted Argentine sovereignty over the islands and ended all diplomatic efforts to resolve the territorial dispute. An emergency meeting of the United Nation’s Security Council resulted in no solutions.
Prime Minister Thatcher called U.S. President Ronald Reagan to intervene in the crisis. Reagan, the U.S. State Department, and Congress supported British actions from the outset, sharing intelligence information with the British, albeit covertly. Only Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina, later to chair the Foreign Relations Committee, supported Argentina. When Congress voted overwhelmingly to support Britain in an April 29th Resolution sponsored by Joseph Biden, Helms was the only Senator to oppose the measure.
Results of the Falklands War
European foreign ministers condemned the invasion and NATO leaders called for a diplomatic solution. In Britain, Argentine assets were frozen and export credits suspended. A naval task force, led by HMS Invincible, was dispatched to the South Atlantic. Although the British suffered losses, the Argentines ultimately withdrew. Argentine defeat eventually undermined the power of the military junta which was brought down by the Argentine people.
References:
- Stephen E. Ambrose and Douglas G. Brinkley, Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938, 8th Edition (Penguin Books, 1997) [general source]
- William A Link, Righteous Warrior: Jesse Helms and the Rise of Modern Conservatism (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988)
- Speeches and papers of Margaret Thatcher.
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