The United Kingdom has once again demonstrated its military power in the South Atlantic by reaffirming the permanent deployment of Eurofighter jets to the Falkland Islands. A decision presented by London as an act of 'defending its sovereignty,' but which for Argentines constitutes the deepening of an illegitimate occupation over a territory that does not belong to it and was usurped by force in 1833. According to the Royal Air Force, four Eurofighters are continuously deployed at Mount Pleasant Air Base under a Quick Reaction Alert scheme, with aircraft and crews ready to take off within minutes in response to any suspicious aerial event. The Falkland Islands are an integral part of the Argentine national territory and were occupied by Great Britain through an act of force in 1833, when it expelled the Argentine authorities established there and subsequently implanted British population, in clear violation of international law. The current deployment is part of a broader military strategy that includes joint naval, land, and air exercises under the name Operation Southern Sovereignty. Recent maneuvers involved, in addition to the Eurofighters, the patrol ship HMS Forth and A400M Atlas transport aircraft, reinforcing the United Kingdom's logistical and projection capabilities in a region that Argentina considers a zone of peace and cooperation. Argentine authorities have emphatically rejected this military escalation in the archipelago. In this context, the growing British militarization of the South Atlantic is seen as a violation of the spirit of these international pronouncements. Furthermore, logistical aspects of the deployment have been noted with concern, which would include technical stops for British military aircraft in regional countries to sustain the operation without expanding infrastructure beyond the islands. However, critical sectors within and outside the United Kingdom warn that this policy not only increases tension with Argentina but also hinders any attempt at a diplomatic solution to a controversy that has lasted for over a century. For Argentina, the message is clear: there is no British sovereignty to defend in the Falklands. The government recalled that the sovereignty dispute is recognized by the United Nations and that there are resolutions of the General Assembly urging both countries to resume bilateral negotiations to find a peaceful and definitive solution. The system operates 24/7 and is part of a military device sustained since the mid-1980s. London maintains that this presence responds to its global security policy and the protection of what it calls 'overseas territories'. However, from the perspective of this publication, the United Kingdom cannot defend a sovereignty that does not belong to it.
