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

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

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.

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

They do live in British territory.

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

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

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.

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.

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'.

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.

There’s a historical difference between how Britain and France ran their empires and subsequently decolonised. Britain gave its overseas territories a lot of autonomy. They usually ran their own affairs broadly independently, but enjoyed the security of the British armed forces. France ran its colonies from Paris. When their empires were wound up, France essentially gave its remaining colonial territories an elected seat in Paris. From the UN’s perspective this makes them part of France, despite a lack of geographical proximity. However, it means their votes in their concerns are drowned out. We did the opposite. We gave our remaining territories more local autonomy but no MP in Westminster. It’s better for locals making decisions locally, but it doesn’t fit the model of either being incorporated into our country or becoming fully independent. Clearly the Falklands couldn’t defend themselves from Argentine invasion without our support, but they also enjoy the fruits of not being treated as a single constituency in Westminster, but their preferences are deemed to leave them as a colony in an age when colonies are politically unacceptable. This means other claims are taken seriously.

Ditto Mauritius and Chagos. Their only claim is based on the fact we administered Chagos from Mauritius. Neither had a native population prior to colonisation. Mauritius was settled by workers brought in from the Indian subcontinent who are largely Hindu and Muslim. Chagos was settled by Christians brought in from Africa. No one questions the rights of the current descendants of Mauritian settlers to remain there, but they do question the rights of the Falkland Islanders and they ignore the rights of the Chagossian people.

If the people living on the Isle of Wight wanted to stay as Brazilian citizens, that would give me no issue whatsoever. I'd visit and enjoy the food.

No, this is about oil & gas. And men's egos.

It’s about resources. For Britain too. The weirdest one for me is Gibraltar!

It's interesting because I've seen online lately, which could be bots tbf, quite a few claims from Argentinians to be indigenous in response to people pointing out they're a settler-colonial state. Never ask a woman her age, a man her salary or an Argentinian irredentist why the small percentage of indigenous DNA across their population is overwhelmingly from the maternal lines...

It’s mainly about the Sealion oil fields. Licence is owned by an Israeli company that majority owns a small British oil exploration company. I can’t believe trump is now getting involved. It’s so depressing and 19th century. They were finally reaching first oil in the next 2 years, with all the licences in place, after years of effort and investment. Argentina are opportunists, and America is just a greedy bully. Think Greenland, Venezuela etc. He can’t stop himself.

If the channel islands voted for it then sure.

It's not the same as England with the Isle of Wight. The nearest Argentinian main land to the Falkland Islands is 250 miles away.

It was also never ruled by Argentina. IIRC the predecessor to Argentina settled there for a few (18?) years after the Spanish left, but we took it over in 1830.

Also culturally they're British, not Argentinian. Same goes for Jersey.

The way things are going at the moment, I wouldn't discount Russia wanting Alaska back at some point...

British people (Falkland Islanders) want to be and are British

Its never been Argeninian. Argentina did not even exist when Britain took hold of it.

As is the way with the way the world is divided up.

Does Argentina want to give itself back to Spain?

It is odd. I hope one day all
the ridiculous territories end- Canaries, Cueta, etc, Falklands & others, Guadeloupe &others,

Oh god, they're the Millwall of Latin America!

The Falklands is resource rich - especially their fisheries
There is also oil and gas reserves.
Their GDP per capita is x5 higher then Argentina (£70,000 compared to £14,000).

But the people who live in the Falklands overwhelmingly voted to stay a British territory and its been a Crown colony since mid 1800s before that it wasn't permanently inhabited it was a whaling station.

It’s more than just the oil and gas. The claim to the Falklands is very handy to whip up support from the Argentine public when times are bad. In 82 the Junta was in trouble and needed a diversion from home problems. They seriously underestimated us and our resolve (I was there)(and would do it again). It will rumble on and if times get hard in Argentina or they need the oil fields they will come again and I hope we will take it back.

You're right and how lovely to see loyalty instead of bashing Britain. Simon Weston bears the scars for life but must wonder why he bothered with the hate some Brits have for their own nation.

I don’t think “Britain” would be too upset if the islanders themselves chose to leave. But as they currently choose to remain a British Overseas Territory, the majority of Brits support them in that. Self determination being the guiding principle.