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ARGENTINA has launched a naval blockade of foreign fishing vessels operating in the South Atlantic in a new bid to put pressure on the Falkland Islands.
Renewed tensions flared up yesterday when the Argentine Navy began boarding a number of Spanish trawlers which are fishing in the region under licence. The Spanish skippers were told by naval commanders that their presence was illegal.
In the past few days a total of 12 Spanish boats, operating under fishing licences issued by the Falkland Islands, have been boarded by Argentine patrols and accused of violating a “legal” blockade of sea channels to the Falklands in the last few weeks.
The Buenos Aires government is demanding that all ships using Argentine waters en route to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands must have permits.
Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner last year issued a decree requiring all vessels passing through its territorial waters to and from the Falklands to secure consent from Buenos Aires.
While no-one is suggesting that a new Falklands invasion is likely any time soon, the harassment of fishing boats is being seen as a means of increasing the pressure on Britain.
The grounds between the Falkland Islands and Argentina are thought to be particularly rich in fish stocks, but it is also thought that oil is another important factor. Fishing boat arrests have also been used in other parts of the world to reinforce territorial claims, notably between China and Vietnam and China and Japan. Argentina has never dropped its claim to the Falklands, which it calls the Malvinas, despite the return of civilian government.
Argentina invaded the Falklands in 1982, but was defeated by a British task force, with the loss of 255 British and over 600 Argentine lives. Three islanders also died.
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