Article

2012-04-02 Caribbean-Latin America

Argentina threatens to sue banks helping Falklands oil explorers

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Posted by Steve White 2012-04-02 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11131 views ] Top

#1 Britain would have to hold its air base on the Falklands unaided for at least a week in the event of another Argentine invasion, a defence pressure group warned Sunday. The UK National Defence Association, which campaigns on military matters, claimed the archipelago was more vulnerable than at any time since the 1982 Falklands War.

In a report ahead of the 30th anniversary of the invasion on Monday, the body said Britain would find it difficult to "protect, reinforce or retake" the South Atlantic islands, largely due to the lack of aircraft carrier strike capability.

"Even in the most favourable circumstances... the deployment of additional fighters and a reasonable war-fighting force would take approximately a week," the report said. "In effect, this means that the British garrison would necessarily have to hold Mount Pleasant airfield and its environs for a week before help arrived. There would be no fighter cover for the landing force and shipping. There is no carrier... There is no question of providing air support using Royal Air Force fighters. There are no bases within range. In-flight re-fuelling, given the number of re-fuels required for a round trip of 8,000 miles from Ascension, would be impossible in the face of the threat posed by the Argentine air force. The UK would be hard put to protect, reinforce or retake the islands... history could well be about to repeat itself -- but this time with a different outcome."

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told The Times last week that Argentina's ageing aircraft do not present a military threat. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Unlike in 1982, we have a well defended airfield in the Falklands with ground-based air defences, and continue to have the ability to reinforce by air and sea. People should be reassured by the contingencies that we now have in place compared to 30 years ago. That said, there is no evidence of any current credible military threat to the Falkland Islands."

Britain has held the Falklands since 1833, but Buenos Aires claims the barren islands are occupied Argentine territory.

Diplomatic friction between Argentina and Britain has intensified since 2010, when London authorised oil prospecting in the waters around the windswept islands, which are home to less than 3,000 people.

Posted by tu3031 2012-04-02 00:53|| 2012-04-02 00:53|| Front Page Top

#2 Oh well, I'm sure Argentinians wont mind being cut off from the worlds' capital markets.

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2012-04-02 06:13|| 2012-04-02 06:13|| Front Page Top

#3 Forgot to add, "yet Again"!

Posted by Bright Pebbles 2012-04-02 06:19|| 2012-04-02 06:19|| Front Page Top

#4 Hammond is correct about one thing: the Argie air force is aging. I think they still fly Skyhawks and older Mirages. And their transport ability stinks.

So with all the hand-wringing (and it's correct not to be complacent), I don't see the Argies making a move. Right now at least.

Posted by Steve White 2012-04-02 07:48|| 2012-04-02 07:48|| Front Page Top

#5 Depends on how desperate Fernandez gets.

Posted by lotp 2012-04-02 12:50|| 2012-04-02 12:50|| Front Page Top

#6 Also, they could "borrow" planes from Brazil.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2012-04-02 12:53|| 2012-04-02 12:53|| Front Page Top

#7 Thing,

That's a possibility we shouldn't laugh at. The Brazilians are a 'regional' superpower, and they might be sorely tempted if the Argentines offered them a piece of the action in return for some heavy-duty logistical support or even the 'loan' of a few aircraft and crews. Nobody down there has anything that can take the RAF's Typhoons one on one - but the Brazilian Navy is big enough and well-trained enough (not to mention having a functional aircraft carrier, the Sao Paulo)to land and supply troops for the Argentines - and at that point, attrition starts to rear its ugly head. Can the RN and RAF relieve the islands before the forces there are simply overrun? There won't be any help from the US this time, and it seems likely that The One would offer to 'mediate' a settlement which would leave the Falklands in Argentine hands permanently.

Mike

Posted by Mike Kozlowski 2012-04-02 15:09|| 2012-04-02 15:09|| Front Page Top

#8 If the Brazilians got involved, I can't believe Uncle Sam would stand by while the Brits got hammered.

Posted by Zhang Fei 2012-04-02 16:13|| 2012-04-02 16:13|| Front Page Top

#9 ZF, maybe after Jan., but now??

Can you really see Zero helping the Brits against Hispanics? (yeah, I know that Argie isn't really Hispanic but does he and would it matter?)

Posted by AlanC 2012-04-02 16:28|| 2012-04-02 16:28|| Front Page Top

#10 If the Brazilians got involved, I can't believe Uncle Sam would stand by while the Brits got hammered.

I dunno .... O appears to hate the Brits and recently favored Brazil with a number of subsidies and plane contracts IIRC.

Posted by lotp 2012-04-02 16:53|| 2012-04-02 16:53|| Front Page Top

#11 Besides, the Brazilians supply us with oil, the British don't.

Posted by Thing From Snowy Mountain 2012-04-02 17:37|| 2012-04-02 17:37|| Front Page Top

#12 she's going "Full Evita" blowing populist bullshit and riling up the rubes to distract from her (and her husband's) terrible policies. Inflation is really running at a pace so much higher than the "official rate" that noting and publishing that will get you harassed and arrested.

Posted by Frank G 2012-04-02 18:16|| 2012-04-02 18:16|| Front Page Top

#13 Brit subs were effective last time. With this much advance notice, the Argies would have a hard time getting an invasion force through them to the islands.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2012-04-02 19:44|| 2012-04-02 19:44|| Front Page Top

#14 That's back when Britain still had a navy. They BARELY have one now. It won't be a one-sided affair this time if they pull the trigger. I think Britain would ask us for help. And BHO would say no, if he's President.

Posted by Charles 2012-04-02 21:27|| 2012-04-02 21:27|| Front Page Top

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