MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Foreign Office will continue to raise Falklands' sovereignty issue with the US

The UK government pledges to highlight to the US examples of Argentina's approach to the Falklands with adverse impact on US and UK interests

The UK will continue to raise the issue of sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and the right of self determination of the Islanders with the United States administration at very senior levels, according to the UK government response to the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee.

 “As the Committee acknowledges in its report, we have raised the issue of the US position on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and the right of self determination of the Islanders with the Administration at very senior levels. We will continue to do so”, stated the Foreign Office.

“We will also look to continue to highlight to the US specific examples where Argentina’s approach to the Falkland Islands has a direct adverse impact on US as well as UK interests”, concludes the response to the Committee's Eighth Report of Session 2013/14 (HC695), on the chapter referred to UK foreign government policy towards the United States.

In its address to the Foreign Office, the Committee had established that it was disappointed that the US administration fails to give priority to the principle of self determination in its position on sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.

”This is particularly so given the way in which the UK allows the US to use two other UK Overseas Territories, Ascension Island and Diego Garcia, for military basing. However, in the spirit of realism which we welcome in the Government, we recognize that the United States’ position in the Western hemisphere gives it particular interests there, and that the issue of the Falklands must take its place among the many other international questions on which the US and UK are engaged. (Paragraph 31)“

However the British Government strongly welcomes the Committee's conclusion that it has taken an effective approach to its relationship with the United States based on UK national interests.

”We acknowledge the Committee’s comments regarding the need to maintain confidence in what the UK brings to the relationship. This was one of the principal conclusions of a seminar that the FCO held with a range of academics and other experts to consider the UK¬US relationship in the future. We remain confident that the US values our views and the capabilities that we bring. As the US Embassy in London noted in their submission to the Committee, “the United Kingdom’s military capabilities, development assistance budget, and unparalleled “soft power” make it a uniquely capable ally for the United States”.

“That said, we are aware of the need not to be complacent. As set out in our written evidence, we are actively considering how the changing nature of the United States, in particular the demographic shift, is altering the degree to which our historical and cultural ties resonate in parts of the United States. We therefore constantly seek to adjust our approach to reach out to new audiences in innovative ways, to ensure that the relationship between our two countries will remain strong for many years to come. We are using our political networks and the full range of diplomatic tools available, such as visits, scholarships, program funds and media engagement, to target not just those in positions of power today but also to engage with different communities – across the US – that could provide the next generation of US leaders and influencers”.