Argentina’s president threatens sanctions on firms exploiting Falklands oil
Conservative shadow foreign secretary Tom Tugendhat told President Donald Trump “don’t be silly” over his comments on UK sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and Irish reunification, characterizing the US president’s remarks as election-year politicking aimed at American midterm voters.
Tugendhat, the MP for Tonbridge in Kent whom Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch appointed shadow foreign secretary in a reshuffle earlier this month, made the comments in an interview on Political Thinking with Nick Robinson.
“What he’s doing is he’s bumping his gums on some issues that he thinks are supportive to various electoral issues for himself at home,” Tugendhat told Robinson. “He’s got elections coming up in November, he knows he’s got votes to win. Is it helpful to us? No. But this is his politics, not ours. So sometimes we have to say something and sometimes we have to go, ‘come on mate, don’t be silly’.”
Trump has said the US position on the Falkland Islands is “one of many” under review and hinted he would not help the UK in any potential future conflict with Argentina. The UK and Argentina still dispute sovereignty of the Falklands, four decades on from a 74-day armed conflict in 1982 that the UK won.
Argentina’s president heightened tensions with the UK earlier this month, saying in a presidential address that “winds of change” favoured his country’s claim to the islands and warning he would impose economic sanctions on firms that exploit oil nearby.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband responded that the UK’s position on the islands was “unwavering,” and that they would remain British as “that is the overwhelming position of the Islanders.” Badenoch also pushed back strongly, insisting “the Falkland Islands are British” and that Britain’s continued connection with them “is of vital importance.”
Tugendhat said Britain’s military capability in the Falklands is “radically different” from 1982 and that the UK Foreign Office has not been negotiating to give the islands up in recent years.
Asked about Trump’s remarks on Irish reunification during a recent visit to Ireland — where the president said reunification would eventually happen and would be a “great thing” — Tugendhat dismissed them as “plain old electioneering” ahead of US midterm elections in November. “Is he going to do anything about it? No,” he added.
Elsewhere in the interview, Tugendhat revealed he had received no confirmation from China that the country’s sanctions against him had been dropped, despite then-Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer announcing in January that they had been. He said he would only visit China, whose communist regime he has long criticised, if there was something relevant and worth discussing — but he feels talks can be held elsewhere at the moment.
Tugendhat also said Miliband should have waited rather than showing “weakness” after the UK sanctioned illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. He ruled out bringing Britain back into the European Union if in government, despite his close personal ties to the continent including his French wife, who was influential in the recent Bayeux Tapestry exchange.
Tugendhat, who ran against Badenoch for the Tory leadership in 2022, praised her performance as leader so far, saying her hoping to be Britain’s next prime minister was a weight off his own shoulders.