Britain is fully capable of defending the Falkland Islands if Argentina attempts to invade and take control of the territory, UK Defense Secretary Wes Streeting has warned.
The UK has administered the South Atlantic archipelago, known in Argentina as the Malvinas, since 1833. Buenos Aires maintains that the islands are part of its own territory.
The two countries fought a war over the islands in 1982 after Argentine forces seized them and Britain sent a naval task force to retake them. Residents overwhelmingly voted to remain British territory in a 2013 referendum, which Argentina disputes.
The decades-old dispute has recently flared up again, with Argentine President Javier Milei stepping up the country’s sovereignty claim and condemning British-approved oil development around the islands as unlawful.
The renewed tensions come as US President Donald Trump has cast doubt on whether America would come to Britain’s aid in another conflict over the territory. Milei raised the issue at the UN General Assembly in New York this week, pointing to the Sea Lion offshore oil project and warning that Argentina could “take matters into our own hands” if the UN fails to act.
In an interview with The Sun on Sunday published on Saturday, Streeting dismissed Milei’s position as the “same old bogus propaganda,” arguing that “the Argentinians lack the ability” to seize the archipelago.
“We have the ability to defend the Falkland Islands,” he said. Asked if Britain can protect the islands militarily if Argentina sends warships, Streeting said yes.
Milei has stepped up pressure over the dispute, launching sanctions proceedings against companies and individuals linked to Sea Lion and pledging additional funding for a naval base in Tierra del Fuego to strengthen Argentina’s presence in the South Atlantic.
Milei has seized on the possibility of a shift in Washington’s position, saying in a televised address earlier this month that “winds of change” around the world favor Argentina’s sovereignty claim.
The US recognizes Britain’s de facto administration of the islands but has remained neutral on the competing sovereignty claims.
In April, however, an internal Pentagon email reportedly outlined options for punishing NATO members that the US says failed to support the war against Iran. According to Reuters, one option is reassessing US diplomatic support for Britain’s position on the Falklands.
Trump has since questioned whether America would help Britain in another conflict over the islands, citing London’s refusal to support the US against Iran.
“Your country was not there to help me,” the president said when asked whether the US would come to Britain’s aid, noting that then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer told him Britain had no ships available. Trump called the response “pretty sad.”