MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“John Cheek” case reaches House of Lords

The Foreign Office is “following closely” the case of the Falklands' flagged fishing vessel “John Cheek” detained a month ago by the Argentine coastguard allegedly operating in Argentine waters, said Monday in Parliament Lord Triesman.

The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office in a written answer to Lord Tebbit added that "Our Ambassador in Buenos Aires has made our concerns known to the Argentine authorities", adding "that there has been no recent harassment of Falkland Islands fishing vessels by Argentine naval vessels".

Last February 20 the Argentine coast guard detained "John Cheek" on the grounds that it was operating in Argentine waters, although the captain of the vessel insists he was in international waters when the incident occurred.

"We have provided the Argentine authorities with the precise position fixes of the "John Cheek" and are waiting their response", underlined Lord Triesman.

When asked what action will the UK government take to assert sovereignty over Falklands' water Lord Triesman replied: "The UK has no doubts about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and the surrounding maritime area. We will continue to defend the right of self-determination of the Falkland Islanders whenever necessary".