MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK says there is no evidence at all, Argentina has the capacity/strength to invade the Falklands

Hammond: Argentina has not bought a single combat jet since 1982 and Mirages are outdated

On the verge of the South Atlantic conflict 30th anniversary, the UK’s Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said that the Falkland Islands “do not face a current credible military threat from Argentina”, and brushed aside the rumours published by the British sensationalist media.

“There is no evidence of any current credible military threat to the security of the Falkland Islands and therefore no current plan for significant changes to force deployments”, said Hammond.

British broadsheet newspaper “The Times” published on Thursday Hammond's remarks, in that there was no need to increase the British military deployment to the Falklands despite an increase in tensions between Britain and Argentina.

Likewise, Hammond stressed that Britain had “no desire or intention to increase the heat,” and added, “We have no evidence whatsoever that Argentina has the necessary capacity and/or strength to lead a military intervention in the Islands.”

“People must remember that Argentina hasn’t bought a single combat jet since 1982, hence they still have the old Mirage jets used during the armed conflict. On the contrary, we [UK] have air superiority as we count with Typhoons jets, which are the most advanced combat aircrafts in the world, with the air base located at the very same Islands.”

Secretary Hammond cooled rumours that went from little to ridiculous like the ones published by British sensationalist media indicating that the Falklands are on red alert amid concerns Argentine veterans will try to “reclaim” the islands during next week's 30th anniversary of the armed conflict.

Anyway, the British official justified all military presence in the archipelago: “However, Her Majesty’s Government is committed to defending the right of the Islanders to self-determination and plans exist for rapid reinforcement of the land, sea and air forces in and around the Islands, should any such threat appear.”

Hammond added that the UK’s Government was “quite confident” that it had sufficient naval assets in the area and the ability to reinforce those assets “should there be any evidence of intent to any form of attack”.