MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands - Argentina: “no ideal situation yet”
The British Armed Forces Minister, Mr. Adam Ingram, is currently coming to the end of a four day long visit the Falkland Islands.
During his stay he has witnessed the work of all three branches of H.M. Armed Forces present in the Falklands as well as visiting the HQ of the Falkland Islands Defence Force and attending briefings with local councillors and various heads of Falkland Islands Government departments.
Mercopress caught up with the Minister on Monday, in a remote mountain location, where he was witnessing a live-firing attack exercise by men of Z Company of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment. Meeting the men afterwards, for an informal chat, during which the Minister appeared very at ease and knowledgeable, it transpired that he had met some of the same troops the previous year in Iraq and he thanked them for what he described as their "big contribution"
Asked what the purpose of his visit was and why he had chosen to come to the Islands via Latin America, Mr.Ingram replied, "First of all it's four years since I was last here in 2002 for the twentieth anniversary and that was a very informative, powerful and emotional experience." He explained that due to events in Iraq and Afghanistan, he had not been able to revisit the Falklands, but had been very conscious of the need to revisit. "And of course"he added, "while we're in the region, then it's important that we visit other countries. I took the opportunity to come down through Chile. I met the new Defence Minister, all the Chiefs of Staff, and all the junior ministers, which was very helpful and beneficial, because we've good links, productive links, with Chile".
The Minister said that he had spent two hours with Chilean Defence Minister, Vivianne Blanlot and the Chiefs of Staff, over lunch and described the meeting as "important" as it was the first opportunity to meet the new minister, only five weeks after she had taken office. They had, he said, already established a good rapport and he hoped that what was already a good relationship between Britain and Chile would become stronger in the months and years ahead.
The Minister told Mercopress that he had met Chilean troops in Bosnia recently, who were part of a small deployment there on a peace support operation. "They do a good job and our people speak very highly of their capabilities." he concluded.
After the Falklands visit, during which the Minister will have had a chance to spent a whole day with each of the three services, Mr.Ingram will head for Brazil to have talks with the Defence Minister and Chiefs of Staff, before returning to London.
Mercopress commented that in Cyprus British troops worked closely and in apparent harmony with Argentinean Forces engaged on peace-keeping duties and that the latter had even taken part in the recent ANZAC Day commemorations there. Asked how it was possible to reconcile this harmonious relationship in one part of the world with the assumption that any future military threat in the Falklands would come from Argentina, the Minister replied:
"I think what we tend to find and I speak as a civilian and as a government minister, is that it's a diplomatic process that has to resolve these issues; that's probably where the stand off is. It isn't between professional soldiers and we find ourselves working with a whole range of people across the globe. I think also what's very important is that if there is any mission anywhere, whether it's of a war-fighting nature or peace-keeping nature or peace-making, everyone wants to know, ?Is Britain going to be there?' because they all want to work alongside us."
He continued, "ANZAC Day was interesting, because the Turks are very much part of ANZAC Day now. I was in Westminster Abbey and the Turkish Ambassador there gave a reading of Kemal Ataturk's beautiful poem about those who are buried in Gallipoli; that they are the sons of Turkey as well as the sons of Australia and New Zealand. So reconciliation can happen and professional soldiers and professional members of the armed forces understand each other."
The best part of his visit to the Falklands, Mr.Ingram said, was seeing the forces training and doing what they were best at. What was good about the Falklands was the scale of the area available and the capacity for training with live ammunition.
Asked whether the British armed forces would continue to want to train in the Falklands, if a time ever came when there was no perceived military threat to the Islands' security, the Minister replied as follows:
"You are asking me a question, I don't think is realistic. It would be ideal if there were no threat, if we had total rapprochement and a hundred per cent friendship with the Argentines and all the outstanding issues were resolved. That would be an ideal situation, but we aren't there yet and we aren't even thinking about that."
Earlier in the day, Falkland Islands Government spokesman, Councillor Mike Summers, had informed local media representatives that the future role of the British Forces in the protection of any future oil installations had been discussed with the Minister. The assumption made by councillors was, he said, that it would be perceived to be in the UK's interests to secure and protect any energy assets, which might be discovered in or around the Falkland Islands. On being asked, whether this assumption was correct, the Minister gave the following robust reply:
"The policing of those facilities would rest with the government here, itself. Clearly we would have a geopolitical interest and that would apply anywhere?it depends where it is, but if we have an interest in a particular area - oil is absolutely crucial and gas is absolutely crucial as well - .we would have then to look at how best we could give support in those circumstances. The one thing we would not want - and I hope oil and gas is found - is that they become fully-functioning fields and then there's a threat from global terrorism or elsewhere. We won't let global terrorism or any other enemies threaten our friends and I make that commitment. We will not let those who've got evil intent succeed."
John Fowler (Mercopress) Stanley .
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