Falklands’ Governor Nigel Haywood said UK relations with Chile go back over 200 years and it was “natural to have a strong relationship with a good neighbour”, reports the latest edition of Penguin News.
The UK has no doubts about Falkland Islands sovereignty: ‘they are British and they are not negotiable’, said on Monday a Foreign Office spokesperson in reply to a Sunday statement from the G77 plus China calling on Argentina and UK to resume sovereignty negotiations over the South Atlantic Islands.
The Falklands Governor praised the Chilean members of the Islands community, described them as well integrated and good workers and said he hoped to further increase and consolidate the good longstanding relations with Chile and its people.
Rockhopper Exploration is in talks with Diamond Offshore about lining up another drilling slot as it spuds a well off the Falkland Islands. Diamond Offshore are the owners of the Ocean Guarding drilling rig contracted by Desire Petroleum and involved in the current hydrocarbons exploration round.
For the first time ever the 131 Foreign Affaire ministers from the countries in the G77 coalition plus China urged the United Kingdom to return to negotiations with Argentina over the sovereignty of the Falklands/Malvinas Islands, the Argentine Foreign Ministry informed on Sunday.
Thoroughly aware of the sheer volume of work involved in politics at the recent Commonwealth Youth Parliament (CYP), Nadia Smith said such a high level career may not be for her just yet, “but there was a strong possibility the Falklands Legislative Assembly may beckon one day.”
Icebreaker HMS Protector, formerly MV Polarbjørn, has spent the spring and summer steadily being converted into a hydrographic survey ship to plug the gap left by HMS Endurance which nearly sank during a flooding incident in late 2008.
HMS Edinburgh following a two-week maintenance stop in Cape Town, South Africa, is again crossing the South Atlantic to the Falkland Islands. This is the third crossing since the Type 42 destroyer left the UK.
“There can be no negotiations on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless and until such time as the islanders so wish”, reaffirmed the UK delegation in an official statement in reply to remarks from the President of Argentina before the UN General Assembly.
The UK government regrets that “Argentina is considering withdrawing from yet another agreement with the United Kingdom” said on Thursday a spokesperson for the British embassy in Buenos Aires in reference to Argentina’s statement before the UN to further isolate the Falklands/Malvinas Islands.