1 hour ago, birdguy said:

Is it that the inhabitants of Falklands identify with Great Britain

Yes, despite being over 5,000 miles away they feel a close affinity to the UK.

1 hour ago, birdguy said:

A question here.  Of what value are the Falklands to the British Empire?  Economic?  Strategic? 

Resources, alongside the locals recently voting almost unanimously to stay part of the UK.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jun/14/declassified-files-reveal-british-interest-in-falkland-islands-oil

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_Falkland_Islands_sovereignty_referendum

I didn't know the Falklands had oil reserves.  Are they being developed?

Noel

1 hour ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

Yes, despite being over 5,000 miles away they feel a close affinity to the UK.

And, to think that "in June 1980, the Foreign Office drew up a proposal, approved by the cabinet's defence committee, whereby Britain would hand Argentina titular sovereignty over the islands, which would then be leased back by Britain for 99 years."

 

3 minutes ago, dmwalker said:

And, to think that "in June 1980, the Foreign Office drew up a proposal, approved by the cabinet's defence committee, whereby Britain would hand Argentina titular sovereignty over the islands, which would then be leased back by Britain for 99 years."

I can’t imagine it would have gone ahead without consulting the people of the Falklands.

10 minutes ago, Ray Proudfoot said:

I can’t imagine it would have gone ahead without consulting the people of the Falklands.

Also, I expect the discovery of oil put an end to thoughts of handover..

11 minutes ago, dmwalker said:

Also, I expect the discovery of oil put an end to thoughts of handover..

A very timely discovery.

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

Are they being developed?

There has been exploration and development work, though I'm not sure how far it has gone in the last couple of years.

2 hours ago, birdguy said:

I didn't know the Falklands had oil reserves.  Are they being developed?

https://www.fiassociation.com/article/518/falkland_islands__another_oil_discovery_

http://www.falklands.gov.fk/mineralresources/jdownloads/licensing/A3 License map Jan 2022.pdf

https://www.petro-online.com/news/fuel-for-thought/13/breaking-news/how-much-oil-is-there-in-the-falklands/32549

However, a report in October 2021 stated that "After investing hundreds of millions of dollars and numerous political squabbles, the Falklands project has still not brought any oil to market."

Edited January 19, 20233 yr by dmwalker

If anyone plays Oil Tycoon (Sid Meier), buy stock in Falkland Petroleum and hold for long term profit in the future...

16 hours ago, DD_Arthur said:

Oh course Martin.

After all, it’s on YouTube….

 

That's not a counterargument at all.

It was originally a TV documentary (I recall BBC but I may be wrong) and the quote I gave you was from the interview with the Welsh Guards commanding officer. And the other comments were historical fact regarding the chaos they experienced. Interviews with Welsh Guards too. This wasn't some kind of opinion form a random YouTuber. 🙄

Edited January 20, 20233 yr by martin-w

18 hours ago, dmwalker said:

And, to think that "in June 1980, the Foreign Office drew up a proposal, approved by the cabinet's defence committee, whereby Britain would hand Argentina titular sovereignty over the islands, which would then be leased back by Britain for 99 years."

This is the first time (in my almost 10 years here) that I hear about this proposal. Would have been something like the Hong Kong agreement?

37 minutes ago, Luis Hernandez said:

This is the first time (in my almost 10 years here) that I hear about this proposal. Would have been something like the Hong Kong agreement?

"The British and Argentinian flags would be flown side by side on public buildings on the islands. British administration would continue with a view to guaranteeing the islanders and their descendants 'uninterrupted enjoyment of their way of life'."

This was the British proposal but I don't think negotiations with Argentina got very far.

"But today's official history makes clear that Britain's claim to the Falklands is not as strong as has been made out. Sir Lawrence Freedman points out that Britain relied, not on prior discovery, but on a small settlement established in 1766 but abandoned in 1774. When Britain recognised Argentinian independence in 1825, it did so without any claim to the Falklands, which were then under an Argentinian governor living there.

Britain seized the islands by force in 1833."

I'll link the article otherwise I'll end up quoting the whole thing.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2005/jun/28/falklands.past 

Edited January 20, 20233 yr by dmwalker

19 hours ago, birdguy said:

I didn't know the Falklands had oil reserves.  Are they being developed?

Noel

 

Quote

"The Sea Lion oil field,  is estimated to hold the equivalent of 1.7 billion barrels of oil, of which about 580 million barrels are thought to be recoverable (Rockhopper, 2021). (For comparison purposes, more than 60 billion barrels have been extracted from the North Sea since the 1960s.)"

 

That's a lot of oil. 😲

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00358533.2022.2037235#:~:text=Oil exploration in the Falklands today,-The areas of&text=The largest of these is,(2021).

 

Quote

The low global oil price, the turn to fracking in the United States and the growing interest in renewables, in addition to the sovereignty dispute with Argentina, have made companies unwilling to take the risk.

 

 

Four Typhoon's based down there. Airbus Voyager. A400M. Sikorsky S61. AW189's.  Army and Navy are based down there too. 

Edited January 20, 20233 yr by martin-w

 

In reply to Birdguy.

I know my history! The chronological order of AVSIM's comments put my comment in the wrong place. The photo of a young Winston Churchill was followed by a quote from the poem about the charge of the Light Brigade. This was what prompted my comment.