I think we should give the Falkland Islands back

[Haziedoll]

I don't understand what our claim on the islands is. From what I have read our argument for retaining the islands is that most of the islanders are of British heritage, well they would be wouldn't they considering the islands are so remote.

We gave Hong Kong back so what's the difference with the Falklands?

David Cameron accused Argentina of colonialism, from where I'm sitting it looks as if Britain are guilty of that, holding onto islands for no legitimate reason, guilty of provocation by sending Prince William and a warship out to the area.

Have I missed the point? Why do you think
we should retain the islands?

The wiki account of the transfer of sovereignty is a useful account.

Macau was a leasehold similar to that for the New Territories and was also handed back to China by Portugal on expiry of that lease in 1999.

"I don't like hostile countries"

Then don't travel. Britain is a convenient Aunt Sally for a lot of countries around the world and you can expect frosty treatment accordingly. If you're English, you'll find hostility as close as Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The people of the Falklands are at liberty to choose whether they want to be independent or linked to another country and, so far, they've always opted to maintain the link with the UK.

give it "back"? It never belonged to Argentina, they just WANT it as it is geographically close.

Oil has been found in the waters round Falklands, it might, however prove too expensive to drill it given it's location (especially as Argentina won't allow boats to sail in their waters to/from the Islands, causing practial problems), and while the oil price is high right now that might justify the investment, there's a general fear any infrastructure would be the first target of an Argentinian invasion so it might be a bit of a waste of money until things settle down again.

Read about the inhabitants of Diego Garcia if you want injustice (they were evicted by the US/British Govts). After the Falklands conflict, the Commander of the Task Force said in his book it would have been cheaper to give the inhabitants £1 million each and sail them to the destinations of their choice on the QE2 than do what we did. Maggie won an election out of the Falklands but I'd like to think there is more going on down there in terms of oil/minerals etc

I think oil issues are a recent red herring in this. The issues of sovereignty, and the UK stance in favour of self determination for the Islanders dates from long before any discovery, and wouldn't be different even were there none.

It was interesting to see this debated on Question Time last week. There was rare unanimity in the audience giving obvious support to the continuation of support for Islanders self-determination.

Haziedoll I live in Brisbane, Australia.

We had 600mm of rain in January.*

Just saying.

*Not a typo. Actually 2 feet. I have rain gauges and everything.

Oh don't give Jersey to the French. I don't want to have to start speaking French on top of everything else.

And Hazie I am thinking that Australia might be a bit ambitious. You are right about Maderia being rainy in the mountains though. I second Corsica. Never been, but sounds nice. Or how about Kefalonia? It's nice there too and with the way the Greek economy is they might be glad to get shot.

oh and Kew am liking very much your precis of how HK ended up back as China's

There had better be oil there! It must cost a fortune to actually keep the islands.

I severely doubt they will ever find oil worth extraction down there. There has been surveying down there for decades. The whole idea that there might be oil down there springs from the idea that there is oil on the Argentine mainland and that the sedimentary layers extend out to the Falklands.

Even if oil is found, building oil rigs that can withstand the battering of the enormous waves in the Southern Ocean plus icebergs is an other challenge. The closest analogy we have is the oil field off Labrador. If oil prices fall it will not be viable.

Anyhow, the Falklands have been under British control for nearly two centuries and thats good enough to stake a permanent claim in my view. If nothing else, it is worth keeping just for its strategic location. If oil is found then Argentina makes sense as the best place to process and sell it and no doubt a good and solid commercial arrangement can be negotiated with Argentina once the sabre rattling stops.

The Falklands are over 300 miles from Argentina and they have never 'owned' them anyway.

It would also be a little unfair on the islanders to " hand them over " to an alien culture and shaky democracy.

My worry is what happens if Argentina to start a re-run of 1982. This stupid governtment have removed almost all of our ability to defend the islanders and - as last time - we cannot trust the Americans to help us even though we seem to be dragged into helping them with every war they start.

Weak UK Forces

The principle at stake is self-determination. The Falkland Islanders are currently British citizens and wish to remain so. If they all said "Actually we want to be Argentinian" I imagine we'd probably say "fine"

Agree with MoreBeta that from what I've seen, the Falkland oil fields will be marginal producers at best.

Does anyone think it slightly provocative that Wills has gone, the Argentinians are comparing him to a sovereign conqueror. Think maybe just adding fuel to the fire.

Why thank you funnys.

Ok you have convinced me I was wrong. I agree that we should keep the Falklands Islands.

It's a shame that the islanders want to remain under British control, a couple of tapas bars and salsa nights down at the local pub might liven it up a bit.

Yes sending Will is provocative and not what the UK needs atm.

Sending Flt Lt Wales for a routine tour of duty will rapidly prove a 5 minute wonder, when it becomes abundantly clear that all he is doing is exactly what all other search and rescue pilots do, and that he keeps such a low profile as to be invisible.

My brother spent something like 6 months out there with the RAF. Apparently it was very very dull with nothing to do except tease the penguins. I'm told that if you fly a plane over a penguin, front to back, it will look up, follow the plane with its eyes and fall over backwards. Allegedly. This may simply be a drunken imagination though.

Aw, hazie. They've got karaoke and the Stanley races. What more do two small islands need?

Sovereign conqueror?

I missed that.

It's a great place to fly round in a wee helicopter though. Some of the coastal areas are stunning.

The idea of it being anything of note that he's going is risible.

Difficult to impregnate from that distance though

I agree it's very weird the UK having it in the first place when it's bloody miles away!

God knows who it should be given to. Probably the main country in that vacinity.

Perhaps we should give Southern England back to the French as well, seeing as they ruled us from 1066 for quite a long time?

Manatee, that's a top idea [signs up] [fait le signature (?)]

Yay, but what the feck are we going to do with the gazillions of Aussies, Americans and Canadians when they are evicted and the land returned to the aboriginal and native people?

They can all move back to the north of England, seeing as we've given the south to the French? Better start building in Manchester....