Relevance : GS-2 : India and its neighborhood- relations.

Key Phrases : Islas Malvinas , Commission for the Dialogue on the Question of the Malvinas Islands in India ,Raisina Dialogue , Territorial Dispute , Decolonisation

Why in News ?

• The Government of Argentina will launch a campaign in India on Sunday demanding negotiation with the United Kingdom to settle the territorial dispute over the Islas Malvinas that are known as the Falkland Islands in the UK.
• The Commission for the Dialogue on the Question of the Malvinas Islands in India will be launched by Santiago Cafiero, Argentina’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship.
• The Ministry of External Affairs has announced that Mr Cafiero is among the leading international figures scheduled to participate in the annual Raisina Dialogue.

Context :

• The initiative, which comes two days after the visit of UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, coincides with the 40th anniversary of the conflict between the UK and Argentina, which ended with the re-establishment of British control over the archipelago.
• The dispute was not settled with the “cessation of hostilities” in 1982 and urged for resumption of bilateral dialogue.
• Argentina claims that the outcome of an armed conflict cannot settle a territorial dispute like the Malvinas/Falkland Islands.

What is the aim of the Commission ?

• The Commission seeks to promote compliance with the resolutions of the United Nations and the declarations of other international fora on the Question of the Malvinas Islands, which call for the resumption of negotiations between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

Falklands War :

• The recent sinking of the Russian missile cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea drew parallels with similar incidents during the Falklands War which began on April 2, 1982 when the Argentine forces invaded the UK-controlled islands.
• The government of Margaret Thatcher had responded by sending a naval task force.
• The 78-day long Falklands War was a unique event involving the United Kingdom and Argentina during the late Cold War period and left lessons in maritime warfare which gave the French Exocet missiles a legendary status.
• The French missile was used by Argentina to sink the Royal Navy’s HMS Sheffield in May 1982.

Some facts about Falkland Islands :

• The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf.
• The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.
• Argentina has maintained that the Falklands were illegally taken from it in 1833 and invaded the British colony in 1982.
• That incident resulted in what later came to be known as the Falklands War that lasted a little over three months, ending in victory for the United Kingdom.
• As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, and the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs.

Conclusion :

• The Falklands War remains an emotive issue both in the UK and Argentina primarily because it left hundreds of young military personnel dead on both sides.
• As a post-colonial state, India has consistently supported a negotiated settlement to the Question of the Malvinas and will continue to do so .
• The war over the archipelago in the southern Atlantic Ocean has emerged as a sort of cultural landmark which was recently as part of a Netflix series.

Source : The Hindu

Mains Question :

Q. Decolonisation of Africa was a cultural ,political and economic process that led to the integration of broken colonies into a New World order . Discuss. (250 words ).