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AIBU?

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Original poster

To not understand why some Argentinians seem to want the Falkland Islands so much?

210 replies

Jane3212 · 24/09/2026 23:46

I really like Argentinian literature and would like to know more about the country- I don't know much at the moment.

However, I have read up on the Falklands War, especially after Milei's grandstanding and the World Cup, and I'm confused as to why there still seems to be a strong sense it was 'stolen' and 'needs to come back', and disregard for the wishes of the Islanders, among some Argentinians (I know many don't feel this way).
The war was terrible and Argentinian men were conscripted. But that was the fault of Galtieri. Argentinians suffered under the brutal junta: we had to defend the Islanders, or they would have suffered under it too. And aside from that, the Islanders don't want to be ruled by Argentina. Virtually no Argentinians live there, and it's not particularly large or rich in natural resources : why the obsession among some? It also seems odd to frame Argentina as a sole victim of colonisation by Britain when the modern country itself was founded upon colonising the indigenous peoples.

I was disgusted with Trump's behaviour : I'm sure he'd scoff at anyone saying that the US is an illegitimate settler state, but he appears to be leaning to Milei for his own ends.

AIBU?

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Ifailed · 25/09/2026 06:42

dustabsorber · 24/09/2026 23:59

What if the Isle of Wight belonged to Brazil? How would we feel about that? I remember when the Falklands' crisis broke, I looked at a map of the UK, expecting to find the Falklands north of the Shetlands.

Distance wise, the Faroe Islands would be a better similarly, however they are 'owned' by Denmark. A bit like Greenland, and we all know whose got eyes on that.

MrsTerryPratchett · 25/09/2026 06:38

Argentina frankly, is a bit weird. They tell other Latinos that thay aren't Latino, they are European. Which pisses off other Latinos. Who rightly see it as a insult to Latinos.

They want the Falklands, which were never theirs and weren't inhabited before ships arrived.

And then there's the whole Nazi thing.

Starting punch ups at tne world cup.

There's a whiff of 'everyone hates us and we don't care'.

Somethinggg · 25/09/2026 06:34

MixedBananas · 25/09/2026 06:19

Maybe Argentina should come and snatch up all the isles around the UK? And then wonder why British are salty?

There are people living on the islands around the UK though. A comparable example would need to be islands hundreds of miles off the UK coast that had no permanent population.

gerispringer · 25/09/2026 06:21

Maybe ask why there are British settlers there? Didn't they go there to kill whales who were hunted to extinction so they had to turn to sheep instead? Im sure there are plenty of uninhabited Scottish islands that could accommodate them and the sheep. Why should UK taxpayers bail them out - their ancestors made the decision to leave these shores. My ancestors have French and Irish ancestry - doesn’t mean I expect those countries to defend me.

MixedBananas · 25/09/2026 06:19

Maybe Argentina should come and snatch up all the isles around the UK? And then wonder why British are salty?

Smokeywater · 25/09/2026 06:19

It's probably just a useful distraction for the Argentinian Gov when things in the country aren't going too well.

MyOtherProfile · 25/09/2026 06:16

montysmaw · 25/09/2026 02:42

They should perhaps live in Britain then.

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They do live in British territory.

MyOtherProfile · 25/09/2026 06:12

lljkk · 25/09/2026 02:04

That... Las Malvinas haven't been Argentinian for almost 200 years.

The Falklands have had British settlers as their only residents for almost 200 years.
Who want to stay British.

The islands are VERY FAR from Argentina, too. They are very far from everywhere.

It's a very weird obsession and distraction from real political issues, I reckon.

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They were never Argentinian. I'm not sure why you're using the name Argentina uses.

MyOtherProfile · 25/09/2026 06:10

PollyBell · 25/09/2026 00:11

Why does Britain want them so much?

At least in part because 99 percent of the people who love there want to be British. In the last referendum 3 people voted against the islands remaining British.

BirdLandedonmyHead · 25/09/2026 05:25

Imagine if every country tried to claim bits of land 300 miles away...

HelmholtzWatson · 25/09/2026 05:19

montysmaw · 25/09/2026 02:42

They should perhaps live in Britain then.

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"Go back to where you came from"

How progressive.

PaperPanama · 25/09/2026 04:41

The Falkland islands were unoccupied before the Europeans started fighting over them. You could say that the French have greater claim than the Argentinians, because the British and the French occupied the islands at the same time, but the British threw the French out.

The Falklands are some 300 miles away from Argentina. That’s like the distance between Scotland and Norway, 1-2h flight.

Alaska is closer to Canada and to Russia than it is to the rest of the USA. What if they wanted Alaska? If Alaskans want to remain American, should they move to America because another country is closer?

To answer the OP: willy-wanging. Until oil was discovered. Then the desire for oil just wanged the willy more wildly.

montysmaw · 25/09/2026 02:42

WearyAuldWumman · 25/09/2026 02:33

It's the islanders who want to remain British.

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They should perhaps live in Britain then.

WearyAuldWumman · 25/09/2026 02:33

montysmaw · 25/09/2026 02:05

Why does Britain want them so much?

It's the islanders who want to remain British.

montysmaw · 25/09/2026 02:05

Why does Britain want them so much?

lljkk · 25/09/2026 02:04

DenizenOfAisleOfShame · 25/09/2026 00:43

I may be wrong, but I don’t believe the Falklands had inhabitants before Europeans got there. The first recorded visit was by a British ship. After that the French, Spanish and British set down tiny settlements over a few decades. They each may not have even known the others were there. After various withdrawals of all the countries the British asserted sovereignty in 1833.

Argentina’s claim to the islands is the weakest one possible. It’s nonsense really, just a distraction for their politicians.

That... Las Malvinas haven't been Argentinian for almost 200 years.

The Falklands have had British settlers as their only residents for almost 200 years.
Who want to stay British.

The islands are VERY FAR from Argentina, too. They are very far from everywhere.

It's a very weird obsession and distraction from real political issues, I reckon.

ChestnutSquash · 25/09/2026 00:54

Jane3212 · 25/09/2026 00:52

The dispute & emotion over it seems to date back further, too. The oil & gas was only found in 2010, the war was popular in 1982 and before that the dispute existed.

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Yes, but the recent resurgence of the dispute is all about the oil, intensified by the current situation in the middle east.

SemperIdem · 25/09/2026 00:54

Argentina want the Falklands because it is resource rich.

Argentina didn’t exist at the point the Falklands became a British territory. Nobody lived there at all. The British people who live there wish to remain so.

Argentina trying to grandstand now, after already losing a war over this, is tedious.

Original poster
Jane3212 · 25/09/2026 00:52

ChestnutSquash · 25/09/2026 00:51

As pp said, they are sitting on a massive oil and gas supply. Huge.

The dispute & emotion over it seems to date back further, too. The oil & gas was only found in 2010, the war was popular in 1982 and before that the dispute existed.

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ChestnutSquash · 25/09/2026 00:51

As pp said, they are sitting on a massive oil and gas supply. Huge.

Original poster
Jane3212 · 25/09/2026 00:50

PollyBell · 25/09/2026 00:11

Why does Britain want them so much?

Do you know the context? They overwhelmingly want to remain British, and we want to support them in that. If they didn't, I'm sure there'd be no issue. But they do.

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Original poster
Jane3212 · 25/09/2026 00:49

dustabsorber · 24/09/2026 23:59

What if the Isle of Wight belonged to Brazil? How would we feel about that? I remember when the Falklands' crisis broke, I looked at a map of the UK, expecting to find the Falklands north of the Shetlands.

By that logic, Guernsey and Jersey are nearer France than Britain, maybe France should have them back?

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DenizenOfAisleOfShame · 25/09/2026 00:43

I may be wrong, but I don’t believe the Falklands had inhabitants before Europeans got there. The first recorded visit was by a British ship. After that the French, Spanish and British set down tiny settlements over a few decades. They each may not have even known the others were there. After various withdrawals of all the countries the British asserted sovereignty in 1833.

Argentina’s claim to the islands is the weakest one possible. It’s nonsense really, just a distraction for their politicians.

PollyBell · 25/09/2026 00:11

Why does Britain want them so much?

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