Falkland Islands:
Four decades after the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina ended bitterly for Buenos Aires, a statement from China on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics, that affirmed Beijing’s support for Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands.
- The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf.
- As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, and the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs.
- The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.
- Argentina has maintained that the Falklands were illegally taken from it in 1833 and invaded the British colony in 1982.
- That incident resulted in what later came to be known as the Falklands War that lasted a little over three months, ending in victory for the United Kingdom.
- China’s President Xi Jinping and Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez issued a joint statement last week that said China “reaffirms its support for Argentina’s demand for the full exercise of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands,”, with the statement using the Argentine name for the territory.
