Li Yang
After the summit of the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States concluded in Brussels on Tuesday, the EU said that it took note of the CELAC’s historical position regarding the sovereignty dispute over the Malvinas Islands between Argentina and the United Kingdom.
The two sides also reaffirmed their fundamental commitment to all the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, including the sovereign equality of all states and respect for their territorial integrity, and political independence, resolution of disputes by peaceful means and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law.
Buenos Aires welcomed that and called it a “diplomatic victory” of Argentina, saying that Argentina has made one stride closer to its objective of resuming sovereignty over the islands. This is the first time the EU has showed its stance on the issue since Brexit in 2020. The EU referred to the islands as its “overseas territory” before 2020. It is predictable that Buenos Aires hopes to have further dialogue with the EU on the issue in the future in a bid to strive for more support for its resumption of sovereignty over the islands.
Although the UK, which controlled the islands after a war in 1982 with Argentina, reached an agreement with Argentina in 2016 on the joint development of the resources related to the islands, that did not serve to put an end to their sovereignty dispute on the isles, and Argentina subsequently withdrew from the deal. The UK has always turned a deaf ear to the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization appealing to it and Argentina to resume negotiations and resolve the sovereignty dispute over the islands by peaceful means. And the UN has reaffirmed many times over the past decades that the question of the islands can be resolved only through peaceful negotiations. China firmly supports Argentina’s legitimate claim to sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the UK should set an example in abiding by the spirit of the UN Charter and UN resolutions. The sovereignty of the islands is decided by history rather than the UK’s success in a robbery.
