
The United Kingdom is the main import trading partner of the Falkland Islands with 87% of all imported goods coming from the UK in 2012 (Customs and Immigration 2013) with the rest imported mostly from Chile and Uruguay, according to the latest report on the Falklands' State of the Economy.

The Falkland Islands elected Legislative Assembly welcomed the statement of Secretary of Defense before the House of Commons and said it was reassuring that the UK government remains committed to the defense of the Islands, and equally significant the strong support received by the secretary from members of Parliament.

Argentina will take the United Kingdom before the United Nations Decolonization Committee following London's announcement it was increasing expenditure on the Falkland Islands defense, said Foreign minister Hector Timerman on Wednesday.

The government of President Cristina Fernandez accused the United Kingdom of using an alleged Argentine threat to the Falkland/Malvinas Islands in order to boost its military budget, while also claiming that the archipelago has been turned into an electoral campaign issue.

United Kingdom Defense Secretary Michael Fallon has dispelled media reports suggesting a surge in troop numbers was likely. Fallon on Tuesday outlined £180 million infrastructure spending plans, but told MPs numbers would remain at around 1,200 military and civilian personnel.

A statement from UK Defense secretary Michael Fallon relative to the Falkland Islands' garrison is expected sometime this week, according to reports in the British media. The Falklands' military response capacity has been a matter of much ongoing debate among analysts and former officers, as Argentina allegedly is involved in increased military expenditure.

Russia has more claim to Crimea than Britain has to the Falkland Islands, a senior Russian lawmaker insisted Sunday as London again denounced Moscow's “illegal annexation” of the peninsula.

Leading conservation groups, scientists and residents of Pitcairn Island congratulated the UK Government on its decision to create the world’s largest marine reserve around the Pitcairn Islands, a UK Overseas Territory in the South Pacific.

Britain's Prince Harry announced on Monday that he will leave the armed forces after a decade of service that included two tours of duty in Afghanistan. Queen Elizabeth's 30-year-old grandson, the fourth-in-line to the throne, said he would quit the military in June following a four-week secondment with the Australian Defense Force.

The US has expressed concern over the UK's bid to become a founding member of a Chinese-backed development bank. The UK is the first big Western economy to apply for membership of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) despite the fact that US has raised questions over the bank's commitment to international standards on governance.