ARGENTINA’S president has called for the UK to give them a Hong Kong-style handover of the Falkland Islands.
Javier Milei’s brazen demands come amid speculation the US may support Buenos Aires over their nonsensical claims to the British territory.
The Argentine tyrant called for a “consensus solution” and claimed his people “do not believe in war”.
But the nationalist firebrand announced on Thursday plans for a new military base and slammed Britain as a country “in decline”.
He told The Economist: “The UK did this with Hong Kong, so why not find the agreement so that sooner or later the islands return to Argentina? They’re ours.”
Milei appeared to be referencing the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration – an agreement between the UK and China to gradually put the city back under Beijing’s control from 1997 onwards.
The former British colony was reintegrated into China’s national territory but has been allowed to keep its own political system for 50 years.
Hong Kongers were never allowed a vote on the deal.
China has also been accused of violating the Joint Declaration due to its authoritarian crackdown on political dissent.
It comes after Donald Trump suggested he would not back the UK if Argentina invaded the archipelago, citing the lack of support in the war on Iran.
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The fears follow a leak of an internal Pentagon email in April implying the US may review its position on the islands.
Milei has recently insisted the islands are a crucial part of Argentina’s “future”, while announcing sanctions on oil companies working off the islands “under the British occupation”.
He warned the UK is facing “multiple crises” that are “unlikely to be resolved” while “Argentina‘s future is flourishing and will prevail”.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband denounced Milei’s outlandish claim, as he doubled down on Britain’s “unwavering position”.
And the Falkland Islanders themselves have put two fingers up to Milei by insisting they want to stay British.
They dismissed “threats and claims” as old hat on Friday and vowed to press on development – code for drilling for oil off the coast.
In a statement the islands Legislative Assembly said their right to be British was enshrined in law and would not be threatened by leaders’ hot air.
They said: “Our future is a matter for the people who live here to decide. That is a right grounded in international law, and it is not altered by the statements of any other government.”
A 2013 referendum saw 99.8 per cent of islanders voted to remain a self-governing Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.
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In Argentina, many have accused Milei of using the Falklands to distract the public from his political woes – including the struggling economy and accusations of corruption.
He has helped tame inflation and reduce welfare spending – but the path has left many jobless and without benefits.
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