British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday welcomed far right Argentina President-elect Javier Milei into the global leadership community by telling him on no uncertain terms is the UK’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands up for debate and that the matter “was settled decisively some time ago” when the Brits repelled an Argentine invasion in 1982, the BBC reports.
Milei had not suggested another war but rather that his administration would “have to make every effort to recover the islands through diplomatic channels” because British sovereignty over the remote and sparsely populated archipelago is some sort of insult to Argentina. While the Falklands are technically a British colony literally none of the classic tropes about colonialism apply here. The islands were never inhabited by pre-Columbian indigenous peoples, came under British sovereignty in 1816, which was 17 years prior to Argentina’s independence from Spain, and the population are all British citizens who voted 99 percent in favor of maintaining their status quo in 2013. Basically it’s just Milei jerking around with some MAGA bullshit even before he assumes office.