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.
Argentina has threatened oil firms seeking to operate off the Falkland Islands with 15-year jail terms, huge fines and confiscation of assets in a fresh salvo in the dispute with Britain over South Atlantic islands sovereignty. But UK reiterated that Argentine law does not apply to Falklands or British Overseas Territories.
Falkland Islands lawmaker Ian Hansen together with political leaders of another seven UK Overseas Territories will be in Gibraltar to celebrate National Day next week, 10 September.
British prime minister has hailed an agreement by the UK's Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies to sign up to a tax evasion clampdown. David Cameron said it was a very positive step forward ahead of the G8 meeting, which starts on Monday.
The United Kingdom Minister for the Overseas Territories Mark Simmonds welcomed the announcement of a set of additional measures to safeguard the sustainable-use Marine Protected Area (MPA) around the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands.
A Falkland Islands lawmaker was scheduled to meet on Tuesday with Tanzania top officials to explain the Islands support for post-colonial status and the coming referendum next year to determine its political future, faced with the insistent sovereignty claims from Argentina.
The first petitioner for the Falkland Islands MLA Roger Edwards before the UN Decolonization Committee said that Argentina claims to fight against colonialism yet wishes to annex the Islands and “subject our people to alien subjugation and domination”, which is the very definition of colonialism.
Foreign Office Minister Henry Bellingham has welcomed the UK Overseas Territories important role in agreeing new measures to protect seabirds.
The UK Government has announced it is to increase funds for South Georgia and the other UK Overseas Territories. On March 10th the UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, William Hague, announced the increase of the Overseas Territories Programme Fund to £7m per year and a special one off payment of £1 million to GSGSSI this year, reports the March edition of South Georgia Newsletter.