MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina describes Prince Williams Falklands’ deployment as “a provocative act”

Prince Williams is expected in the Falklands during the period February/March 2012

Argentina complained Friday that Prince William's six-week mission as a rescue pilot in the Falkland Islands, the object of a 1982 British-Argentine war, is “a provocative act.”

William, second in the royal line of succession, is due to be deployed in the disputed Islands early next year just ahead of the war's 30th anniversary.

“It is a provocative act that displays Britain's military presence in an area where there is no armed conflict” said Sebastian Brugo Marco, the Argentine foreign ministry's director for the Malvinas Desk.

“One cannot ignore the political content of the military operation, keeping in mind that the prince is part of the royal family,” he said in an interview published by the newspaper La Nacion.

“This attitude is contrary to the search for a bilateral dialogue” that Argentina has been calling for in different international forums, added the Argentine head of the Malvinas desk.

For the Argentine government the latest announcement is but one more of a string of unilateral “aggressive decisions” from the UK such as the oil exploration in Falklands/Malvinas waters, the fact former British top officials have insisted on an armed conflict situation with Argentina and the presence of British frigates in the zone.

The war over the Falklands erupted after they were seized by Argentine forces on April 2, 1982. It ended 74 days later with the expulsion of the Argentines by a British task force in a campaign that left 255 British and 649 Argentine dead.

The Royal Air Force said in a statement that the 29-year-old prince, a search and rescue pilot, “will complete a routine deployment to the Falkland Islands... during the period February to March 2012.”

“This deployment forms part of a normal squadron crew rotation and will form part of Flight Lieutenant Wales' training and career progression as a Search and Rescue pilot within the RAF.”