Forty-three years have passed since the recovery of the Malvinas Islands, and in recent years they haven't even dared to remember that, after 149 years, Argentina had recovered, even briefly, the territorial integrity of the nation. Those who have emptied the feat of meaning have deprived the fallen and the combatants of the reason for their efforts and heroic role. While the British celebrate in the United Kingdom and in the Malvinas Islands the withdrawal of Argentine troops from the Islands on June 14 (which presupposes a prior Argentine recovery), successive Argentine governments are de-Malvinasizing and failing to comply with the first provision of the 1994 National Constitution, which states: " The Argentine Nation ratifies its legitimate and imprescriptible sovereignty over the Malvinas, San Pedro (South Georgia) and South Sandwich Islands and the corresponding maritime and insular spaces, as they are an integral part of the national territory...constituting a permanent and inalienable objective of the Argentine people."

“There is a lot to do, because almost nothing has been done since the war” ( César Lerena, “Malvinas 1982-2022. A heroic feat and 40 years of dedication”, April 2, 2022 ).

Successes have been few, and mistakes (?) have been a constant feature of Argentine politics to this day. In recent years, the 1968 Memorandum of Understanding (the conceit of discussing sovereignty while taking into account the interests and desires of the islanders) has not been undone; we must consider, among others, Marcelo Kohen and Guillermo Carmona; the de facto Lanusse administration (1970-73), where the islanders were provided with all kinds of services and goods without anything in return (gas, mail, telephones, landing strips, airplanes, studies, healthcare, etc.); a British project that allowed the United Kingdom to buy time and implement new strategies on the islands; and President Javier Milei's manifest intention to collaborate with the British in strengthening the British presence in the Malvinas.

It's safe to assume that the Argentine Foreign Ministry had already been aware of Lord Shackleton's mission report (it was being sold on the islands in 1976 for 8 pounds a copy, marking the 143rd anniversary of the occupation of the Malvinas Islands); but it doesn't seem that they have learned until today that it has been 192 years since the British occupation. All of its action-inaction was absolutely unfavorable to Argentine interests, and when it came to signing treaties, agreements, laws, conventions, and declarations, this report was not taken into account, which, among other things, says: "It is estimated that the islands are surrounded by a sea that could contain the world's largest unexploited protein resources... (Regarding) fishing on the high seas, the report maintains that a large part of the fishing grounds in the southwest Atlantic are located within a 200-mile radius around the islands... The report urges the British Government to propose an international convention for the control of fisheries in the Southern Ocean... Oil, according to expert Ridchard Johnson and his team, represented the existence of black gold in the sea. To implement a major economic development program for the islands, especially with regard to marine resources, Argentine cooperation and even participation should be sought… It is evident to anyone visiting the archipelago that the population is British and firmly desires to remain British. The issue of sovereignty is a determining factor in the report, and it is somewhat unrealistic to examine economic possibilities largely divorced from political considerations. Because of this, and the high cost of production, without Argentine cooperation, there is little likelihood of a commercial response to the unilateral issuance of licenses by the British government. The document adds that “a new mining ordinance should transfer all mineral rights to the British Crown. Legislation should be drafted with full knowledge of Argentina's oil exploitation policy.” The report addresses no less important issues such as transport and recommends direct flights to the Malvina Islands and close cooperation with Argentina... The report's conclusions are thus tied to the only option maintained to date by the United Kingdom: "discussion regarding the possibilities of cooperation and uncompromising maintenance of the British commitment to the islanders that there will be no transfer of sovereignty against their wishes" ( José E. Greño Velazco ). Nothing could be more similar to the unilateral cooperation promoted by all Argentine governments, knowing that the United Kingdom will not conduct any discussion on sovereignty that goes against the wishes of the islanders, although we know that this is an imperfect excuse by the Foreign Office to continue occupying a strategic position in the South Atlantic that allows it access to Antarctica and control of the passages to the Pacific and Indian Oceans. A policy that has been strengthened since the United Kingdom's separation from the European Union and the partnership with the United States in control of the sea.

I will briefly discuss the successes and failures of the Argentine governments between 1982 and 2024 regarding diplomatic and other non-military actions aimed at recovering the Malvinas Islands.

Forty-three years after the recapture of the Malvinas Islands, when Argentine troops abandoned them, we believed the worst had happened. The contrasts were so striking and the motivations so obvious that the de facto government, instead of honorably receiving those who fought to defend the national territory and honoring our dead and wounded, hid them away. Meanwhile, many Argentines failed to distinguish between a poorly considered decision and the noblest fulfillment of duty in the pursuit of defending the nation's territories, as prescribed by Article 21 of the National Constitution, and ensuring a sovereign country.

1983-1989 Government of Raúl Alfonsín ^[4] ; Chancellor Dante Caputo ^[5] and Ambassador Lucio García del Solar

The United Kingdom authorizes [8] to Firstland Oil and Gas to carry out explorations related to oil and gas extraction operations.

In the middle of this year [9] The Swiss government, which was responsible for Argentina's interests after the war, called a meeting, which was the first since the war. The Argentines had agreed to go ahead with the understanding that the British had agreed to include the issue of the "sovereignty question," which, in fact, was never discussed at any time.

 In October [10] , the islanders passed a new Constitution removing the Governor's power to elect members of the Executive Council and granting full British citizenship to the islanders.

In 1986, Foreign Minister Dante Caputo and Undersecretary of Fisheries Luis Jaimes promoted the signing of the " Framework Cooperation Agreement" with the USSR and Bulgaria with the intention of allowing their vessels to fish in the Malvinas area, an initiative that never occurred in practice. In response to these agreements, the British Governor of the Malvinas Islands, through Proclamation No. 4, announced the creation of a 150-mile "Provisional Fisheries Conservation and Management Zone" (FICZ) ; establishing, for the first time, a zone around the Malvinas Islands prohibited to Argentine vessels, in addition to claiming, by order of the Queen, the Exclusive Economic Zone and a Continental Shelf of 200 miles (approx. 438,000 km2) around the Malvinas Islands. ^[11] .

This same year, at the initiative of Brazil and approved by the General Assembly Resolution 41/11 of 27/10/86, the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZPCAS) was created, made up of all the States with ZZE in the South Atlantic: Angola , Argentina , Benin , Brazil , Cape Verde Archipelago ^[12] , Cameroon , Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea,  Guinea-Bissau , Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Nigeria, Sierra Leone ^[13] , South Africa ^[14] , Togo and Uruguay (not for the islands occupied by the United Kingdom of Great Britain such as "Ascension, Malvinas, San Pedro (South Georgia), South Sandwich Islands and Tristan da Cunha); concerned with socio-economic issues, the protection of resources and the environment, peace and security ^[15] and also the emancipation of South Africa and its colonial territories ^[16] , which was expanded in Brasilia in September 1994 at the Summit of Member States with the Declaration on Denuclearization. Argentina pays little attention to this important tool designed to prevent interference in the South Atlantic by foreign countries, including the United Kingdom, and to limit that country's armament.

In 1987 at the UN ^[17] Foreign Minister Caputo, head of negotiations, García del Solar, Ambassador Marcelo Delpech, and Undersecretary Robert Gelbard of the United States met. The Foreign Minister presented the text proposed by Argentina on the " sovereignty umbrella ," which the US official forwarded to the British Embassy. In reality, Caputo did nothing more than accept the British formula that Argentina had rejected in 1981. ^[18] : freeze the “sovereignty” issues and cooperate jointly in the development of the Malvinas (See Lord Shackleton report of 1976 ), which would later be finalized in 1989/90 and reissued in 2019 with the Foradori-Duncan Pact. This did not prevent the United Kingdom from advancing from the 11,410 km ² (Malvinas) that it occupied in 1982 to the 1,639,900 km ² that it still occupies in 2024, not counting the spaces of Antarctica (2,426,911 km2) and the extended Continental Shelf that it has in dispute (1,430,367 km2) with Argentina.

In 1988 in Geneva, Caputo and García del Solar, along with the British ambassador to the UN, Crispín Tickell, negotiated all references to fishing issues in what would later become the Madrid I Agreement. This issue seemed to the Argentine government, and to subsequent governments, a minor issue; but, as we have already stated ( César Lerena, “Argentine Fishing: Reaffirmation of Decline,” 1989; “Malvinas: Biography of the Delivery, Fishing as a Currency of Exchange,” 2009; and “Documents of the Advisor to President Menem,” 1989–1990 ), it was and is a central issue. The Shackleton Report had already stated this, and the illegal director of Fishing for the Malvinas, John Barton, would later ratify it on March 14, 2012 (El Cronista): “ without Fishing, the Malvinas people could not have survived ” ( sic ).

While the enthusiastic Argentine delegation was delivering non-papers to London ^[19] The United Kingdom announced Fire Focus maneuvers in the Malvinas. Caputo urged dialogue based on the British umbrella formula, and the British government stated that they would "address the dialogue based on their declaration." ^[20] of 1986", while the Argentine government would do so "on the basis of Argentine jurisdiction reaffirmed since 1966 with the enactment of Law 17,094" (a law that the Menem government would later repeal). The United Kingdom did not reply and, towards the end of 1988, Caputo "made clear his urgency to move forward, given the possibility that the opposition would win the presidential elections the following year. By July 1989, the United Kingdom had not responded to the Argentine non-paper of September 1988. ^[21] Obviously, no one would agree to anything with a government that was falling.

In 1991, Chancellor Cavallo promoted, with the intervention of Susana Ruiz Cerutti, the sanction of Law 23.968 ^[33] the determination of " the baselines of the Argentine continental territory" which effectively repealed Law 17.094, reducing the Argentine territorial sea from 200 to 12 miles , despite the fact that Argentina had not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Madrid Agreement was consolidated with this Law and paved the way for the United Kingdom to later establish an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 miles (approx. 438,000 km2) around the Malvinas Islands. ^[34] This law weakened the rights of the Patagonian provinces, especially Tierra del Fuego, whose islands, like the Malvinas, would be unsustainable by reducing their territorial waters to twelve miles.

In 1993, the United Kingdom extended its occupation to 200 miles around the St. Peter's (South Georgia) and South Sandwich Islands. This decision implied greater maritime occupation and southern control of the South Atlantic and its projection into Antarctica.

In 1994 , the Argentine government established chartering and a ban on squid, ensuring islanders could access this vital resource to the Malvinas Islands.

For its part, the United Kingdom establishes a "GAP" Area to the northwest of the Islands, outside the British exclusion zone (FICZ) and within the Continental EEZ, of about 1,400 km2 to protect its squid catches. ^[36] , without any Argentine claim being made.

That same year, Argentina signed a Fisheries Agreement with the European Economic Community. ^[37] (now the European Union) and shortly after the United Kingdom established a 200-mile EEZ around the Malvinas, which ratified the prohibition of fishing by national vessels in that area and facilitated the granting of licenses to the English to Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean, Spanish vessels, etc. The areas assigned to Spanish vessels in the Agreement with the European Union did not reach the Malvinas area and, even in the case of the Squid, they were assigned the capture of a subpopulation of this species that does not migrate to the Archipelago, with the obvious intention of not interfering with British captures (licenses) of that species in the Malvinas.

Through Law 24,385, Argentina approved the Paraguay-Paraná Waterway Agreement. Governments have failed to implement a management policy for this important river trunk, which carries the majority of national trade, and have failed to exercise proper control over merchandise and security in matters of smuggling and drug trafficking.    

In the Province of Santa Fe ^[38] approves the new Constitution of the Argentine Nation, which in its First Transitory Provision establishes that: " The Argentine Nation ratifies its legitimate and imprescriptible sovereignty over the islands and the corresponding maritime and insular spaces, as they are an integral part of the national territory. The recovery of said territories and the full exercise of sovereignty constitute a permanent and inalienable objective of the Argentine people ," which demonstrates the vocation of all political sectors to persist in the recovery of this national territory; however, in practice, policies in tune with this popular mandate are not being carried out and, on the contrary, in many cases they are violated, as can be verified in several subsequent years.

In 1995, Argentina and the United Kingdom agreed to jointly investigate Argentine resources in the South Atlantic. ^[39] in a wider sector (below 45ºS) than the FICZ (British exclusion zone around the Malvinas), with Argentine research vessels and their technical and operational capacity to provide the British with vital information that allows them to predict the availability of fishing resources in the South Atlantic and grant illegal licenses to foreign and own vessels.

The same year Argentina passed Law 24,543 ^[40] ratifies the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) ^[41] which reduces our Argentine Territorial Sea from 200 to 12 miles, and limits the Argentine Continental Shelf to 350 nautical miles, which in the Malvinas reaches 850 miles ^[42] , in addition, we understand that Argentina, although it observed several of its points relating to maritime territorial issues, migratory resources originating in the EEZ and the preeminent rights of coastal States over Flag States, had no practical effect and hundreds of vessels fish illegally (without control by the flag States, without determining the maximum sustainable catches and affecting the interests of the coastal States) on the high seas migratory fishery resources originating in the Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone. This is a Convention very favorable to Flag States, which does not maintain scientific rigor regarding the sustainability of resources, since it liberalizes fishing on the high seas despite the fact that these resources generally originate from the coastal States.

In 1998 , the " Military Cooperation Agreement " was signed with the United Kingdom, which did not reduce the British military presence in the Argentine sea, but rather transferred the Southern Command from Ascension Island to the Malvinas Islands, establishing the largest NATO base in the South Atlantic, with state-of-the-art aircraft, frigates, missiles and radars, and the Argentines limited themselves to reporting their military movements.

In 1999, the Argentine Foreign Ministry collaborated with the United Kingdom to combat vessels without British fishing licenses in the Southwest Atlantic . In Madrid ^[44] the then Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Argentina Andrés Cisneros ^[45] Argentina agrees to seven measures with the British. In other words, Argentina once again benefits the United Kingdom with measures to combat "vessels without British fishing licenses" in the South Atlantic, so that the illegal administration of the Malvinas Islands can continue granting licenses to foreign fishing vessels to harvest Argentine resources, producing one of the largest unilateral Argentine cooperation initiatives in favor of the Malvinas Islands economy.

2000-2001 Government of Fernando de la Rúa ^[46] and Chancellor Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini

In 2000, Argentina, through Law 25.290, passed on July 13, 2000, approved the so-called New York Agreement on the Implementation of the Provisions of UNCLOS of December 10, 1982, relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, adopted in New York on December 4, 1995, which places the control of migratory species in the hands of the Flag States (with the majority in the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations - RFMOs), appropriating from the coastal States through illegal fishing more than 11,000 million dollars annually in South America and the Caribbean and, at the same time, opening up The United Kingdom has been denied access to these regional organizations to intervene under the pretext of considering the Malvinas Islands a coastal state. It was not ratified by Argentina due to pressure exerted before the National Congress by organizations and experts, despite the insistence of the Argentine Foreign Ministry to do so. It is an agreement that would violate the First Transitory Provision of the National Constitution. If it weren't for a handful of opponents in Congress, among whom we count ourselves, this regrettable law would have been ratified.

In 2001 , Argentine Foreign Minister Adalberto Rodriguez Giavarini ^[47] invites ^[48] the United Kingdom to coordinate the presentation to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf and "…propose the following arrangement: the sovereignty formula…" (sic). An issue that had never been included in the umbrella formula. A regrettable and incomprehensible mistake.

2001-2003 Government of Eduardo Duhalde ^[49] and Chancellor Carlos Ruckauf ^[50]

No relevant matters were recorded between 2001 and 2003 .

2003-2007 Government of Carlos Kirchner ^[51] , Rafael Bielsa ^[52] and Jorge Taiana ^[53]

In 2005 , there was a lack of support from countries friendly to the European Union for the Lisbon Treaty, which incorporated the Malvinas, San Pedro (South Georgia), the South Sandwich Islands, and Argentine Antarctica as British Overseas Territories. Citizens of the European Union voted ^[54] The referendum on the approval of the European constitutional text, which includes our archipelagos and Antarctica as British Overseas Territories. Surely many of the Spaniards and Italians who voted in favor were relatives of the more than one million compatriots who arrived in Argentina in the 20th century. It is unknown how the Argentines with dual nationality living in Argentina and Europe voted, but, in any case, the role played by the Argentine Foreign Ministry in those countries and those citizens is unknown.

The British continue to occupy the South Atlantic, and vessels fishing in the Malvinas and illegal fishing vessels are landing in the Port of Montevideo, facilitating their logistics and trade. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bielsa told us: "We have acted firmly, but without fanfare before the world."

In the same year , joint fisheries research in the South Atlantic was suspended . Positively, meetings of the Fisheries Commission were suspended. ^[55] Because the British granted fishing licenses for 25 years in the Malvinas. This fact, which demonstrates the British willingness to exploit the fishing resource—even depleting it—ends up proving auspicious; since through these investigations, Argentina contributed knowledge and ships, and the British developed their fishing strategy in the region to issue new illegal permits.

In 2007 , the government granted exploitation rights to the "Cerro Dragón" oil field to Pan American Energy, whose share capital is largely owned by British Petroleum, until 2043. At the same time, the close business ties and interests of mining, oil, and financial corporations with the companies exploiting oil in the Malvinas Islands are ignored. These include Barrick Gold, Minera Bajo La Alumbrera, and Cerro Vanguardia, co-owners of the oil companies Desire Petroleum, Rockhopper Exploration, FOGL, and Southern & Borders Petroleum, in open violation of Law 26.659 (Solanas Law). These companies are also involved in speculative capital, such as Barclays Bank, a shareholder in one of these oil companies and hired by the government to negotiate the debt swap.

In the same year , Argentina ratified its rights before the UN over the Argentine Continental Shelf in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. ^[56] , which would later become the most important State policy of recent times, along with the Clause of the National Constitution.

2007-2015 Government of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner ^[57] and Foreign Ministers Jorge Taiana ^[58] and Hector Timerman ^[59]

In 2008, restrictions were imposed on fishing companies based on the Argentine mainland operating in the Malvinas . Law 26.386 was passed. ^[60] This law prevents fishing companies operating directly or indirectly in the Malvinas Islands from obtaining permits from the Argentine Enforcement Authority to fish in the South Atlantic. This has not prevented some companies from violating this legislation. ^[61] without being sanctioned and everything seems to indicate that, if the Spanish company with American capital IBERCONSA were to take control of Nueva Pescanova, it would operate in Argentine continental waters and in the Malvinas, a fact that would violate the aforementioned law.

In the same year, the " location and identification of the Argentines who fell in the Malvinas" began. ^[62] in the Darwin Cemetery ” and there are those who understand that this constitutes a violation of the Geneva Convention ( Guillermo Rossi, Mar del Plata, 3/20/2023 ).

As of 2009 , there has been no action by the United Nations Decolonization Committee . The Argentine government has criticized the United Kingdom for the umpteenth time for ignoring the promotion of dialogue between the parties to Resolution 2065/65. It seems to fail to understand that "if the same action is repeated several times in the same setting, the same result should only be expected " and that active policies are necessary. The United Kingdom ^[63] obtains recognition from the European Union as an extracontinental territory of that bloc.

In 2010 , the United Kingdom began oil exploration in the Malvinas , so that if the explorations prove successful and the cost is competitive, it could strongly consolidate the British position in the Islands.

Law 26.651 approved the bicontinental map , which establishes the obligation to use the Argentine territory of the American continent and the Antarctic continent on official maps.  

That same year, Executive Decree No. 256/10 required vessels traveling to the Malvinas Islands to request permission from national authorities. This measure was rhetorically supported by Latin America, as more than 700 foreign vessels operating in the Malvinas Islands area, on the high seas, or in the Argentine EEZ were being repaired, refitted, and transshipped in Uruguayan ports. The measure was ineffective because Argentina had to inspect the goods being transported and require certificates of origin and traceability to verify whether or not they originated from illegal fishing of migratory resources and/or the Malvinas Islands.

In 2011 , Law 26.659, drafted by Senator Fernando "Pino" Solanas, was passed into law. This law establishes sanctions against mainland companies that maintain direct or indirect interests in the Malvinas Islands. However, Argentine governments award offshore contracts without taking this legislation into account.

That same year, the Declaration of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) on Argentina's rights to the Malvinas Islands (Caracas) was issued. Although Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica initially barred foreign (non-merchant) fishing vessels from entering Montevideo, this was relaxed, and hundreds of vessels now carry out logistics work in Uruguay.

The coastal provinces of Tierra del Fuego (852/11); Santa Cruz (3239/11); Chubut (136/11); Río Negro (4770) and Buenos Aires (14380/12) passed laws to prevent British vessels from using their ports (the “Gaucho Rivero Law”) , which were partially enforced. 

Also this year the United Kingdom created the "largest Blue Belt reserve in the world" an Ecological Sanctuary or Marine Protected Area with 1,070,000 km ² (three times larger than the United Kingdom which reaches an area of 315,093 km 2 in Argentine jurisdiction (around San Pedro (South Georgia) and South Sandwich), to ensure the arrival of fish to the Malvinas area, including 20 thousand km ² of exclusion [64] , contrary to the requirements of CCAMLR ( Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources ), This contrasts with the United Kingdom's lack of interest in resource protection. Environmentalists seem to ignore the fact that this territory is Argentine and continue to demand that Argentina increase the number of Marine Protected Areas in its waters.

In 2012, a Commission was formed to publicly review the Rattenbach Report on the performance of the Armed Forces during the Malvinas War.

In 2013, Argentina and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) signed an agreement ^[65] which grants this institution facilities throughout the national territory to carry out its activities, "within the framework of its independent, neutral and impartial international humanitarian mandate."

This year, an illegal referendum was held in the Malvina Islands on "whether British citizens living in the Malvinas wish the Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom." The result was 99.83% positive out of a total of 1,516 votes cast. They thus ratified their status as a British colony and, with it, made it clear that they are not autonomous nor seeking independence, but rather to continue considering themselves British. The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Julián Domínguez, calls the actions of Uruguayan deputy Jaime Trobo, acting as an observer in the illegal referendum in the Malvinas, a betrayal of the homeland for Latin America. A term that might more accurately fit the Argentine and Swiss resident Marcelo Gustavo Kohen, who in 2018 proposed a plan to the British islanders that included a referendum to determine whether they wanted to join him in his plan or remain part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain.

Also in 2013, by Law 26.875, the government created the " Namuncurá" Marine Protected Area , which, in any case, should have been limited to the Federal Fisheries Council dictating definitive and temporary closed season rules by the Research Institute (INIDEP) and preventing the resources that are intended to be protected from migrating to the Malvinas to be exploited by foreign vessels illegally licensed by the United Kingdom. The same is true of the Namuncurá II and Yaganes Marine Protected Areas approved by Law 27.490 of December 17, 2018. 

In 2014 , the CELAC Declaration on Argentine Rights in the Malvinas Islands (Havana) was issued. However, like previous and subsequent declarations, it has had no practical effect to date.

In 2015, London announced the discovery of oil at the Isobel Deep well in the North Basin, about 200 km from the archipelago, and subsequently granted exploration permits. Argentina filed criminal charges against foreign companies. ^[66] for operating illegally on the Argentine continental shelf.

In the same year , article 2340 of the Civil Code was reformed regarding the public domain in the EEZ , where the linguistic changes of the maritime legislation were ignored, without taking into account that at the time of approval of article 2340 of the Civil Code ^[67] Law 17.094, which established Argentine sovereignty over a territorial sea up to 200 nautical miles, was in full force; while today, Article 235 ^[68] which replaces it, refers to a Territorial Sea which, according to international treaties and our legislation, is limited to just 12 nautical miles. That is, unless otherwise interpreted, some 188 nautical miles would be excluded from the public domain.

2015-2019 Government of Mauricio Macri ^[69] and Foreign Ministers Susana Malcorra ^[70] and Jorge Faurie ^[71]

In 2016 , the Argentine report of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) was unanimously ratified. ^[72] of the UN ^[73] on the outer limit of the Continental Shelf after 13 years of work ^[74] of the Commission on the Outer Limit of the Argentine Continental Shelf (COPLA) that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented to the UN in April 2009. A total of 1,782,000 ^km2 from 200 nautical miles to the outer limit, although of these ^km2 only about 351,633 km2 in 2016/7 were recommended ^[75] And they are beyond dispute. Regarding the remaining area of 1,430,367 ^km2, the UN Boundary Commission suspended its consideration because it considers the space to be disputed. This work constitutes a model for how Argentina should proceed in its State Policies, and a demonstration of the professional capacity of the ambassadors and technicians who made up COPLA, which, despite the passage of six administrations, ^[76] Despite the political, economic, and instrumental difficulties, he carried out commendable scientific, geographical, and legal work in favor of the nation's highest interests. In this regard, we remember the late Ambassador Horacio Solari, the principal manager of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (COPLA), who not only arranged the entire legal and technical aspects of its creation (Law 24.815) but also managed to secure the necessary budget.

In this same year, Chancellor Susana Malcorra actually ratified the Madrid Agreement when she indicated to the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Carlos Foradori to carry out the so-called Foradori-Duncan Pact ^[77] , ratified in fact by successive foreign ministers, who together with the British minister, Alan Duncan, declared: " to adopt appropriate measures to remove all obstacles that limit economic growth and sustainable development of the Malvina Islands " keeping the "umbrella formula" alive. This pact reactivated joint fishing research with the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic without having revoked the fishing licenses granted for 25 years by the British in the Malvinas that justified their suspension in 2005 and, enabled a new flight between the Malvinas, São Paulo and Córdoba, facilitating trade between the Malvinas and one of the most important economic centers in the world and the survival of the inhabitants of the Islands in the face of the Brexit exit, which could change in the future the commercial relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

This year, Foreign Minister Malcorra stated (in the midst of her campaign to become UN Secretary-General) that " the Malvinas Islands are no longer the main issue in the relationship between Buenos Aires and London ," demonstrating the government's lack of interest in enforcing the First Transitory Provision of the National Constitution.

Argentine demands also became visible in 2016. The statement by the Premier of the Virgin Islands and Chairman of the UKOTA Political Council ^[78] Mr. Orlando Smith OBE, highlights the weakness of British rights in the Malvinas and the “twelve overseas colonies.”  The low price of oil and Argentina's continued claim to the platform could also discourage oil exploration companies from establishing themselves in the Malvinas region; however, this does not appear to be a factor in Argentine policy, as offshore hydrocarbon exploration continues to be authorized for companies with ties to the Malvinas Islands.

The same year, by application of Law 26.386 ^[79] and after eight years, the Argentine government fines ^[80] 10 million pesos were awarded to the Chilean Fisheries Development Company SA (EMDEPES), a subsidiary of the Japanese company Nippon Suisan Kaisha (Nissui), for fishing with the vessel "Unión Sur" under an illegal British license in the Malvinas region. This was achieved not through government control or investigation, but through the complaint filed and sustained by the former director of operations of PESANTAR. ^[81] subsidiary of the aforementioned NISSUI in Argentina, Juan Benegas ^[82] However, to date, the government ignores laws 24,922 and 27,564 passed in 2020. [83] and does not apply sanctions to foreign vessels fishing in the Malvinas area.

Likewise, in 2016, the location of the fallen combatants in the Malvinas is being carried out.  He remembers ^[84] In London, between Argentina and the United Kingdom, the Humanitarian Project Plan comprised of forensic experts, including those from the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, to identify the Argentines who died in the Malvinas Islands. A four-member delegation from the Red Cross was authorized by the Argentine and British governments to carry out the technical evaluation tasks. ^[85] and define the identification procedure for Argentines buried in the Darwin Cemetery in Malvinas.

In 2017, The National Congress unanimously approved Laws 27,418 on the Naval Industry and 27,419 on the Merchant and River Marine, presented by Senators Solanas and Luenzo, and authored by César Lerena and Fabian Lugarini. These two bills are intended to promote national industry and discourage the use of foreign flags on the Paraguay-Paraná river trunk line, promoting regional development and international trade under the national flag, as well as the import of fishing vessels and vessels for other uses. In both bills, the Executive Branch vetoed the articles relating to industry financing.   

That same year, three previously unpublished documents from 1767 confirmed Argentina's sovereignty over the Malvina Islands . A private antiquarian provides three letters that demonstrate the relationship with the Buenos Aires government and the first governor of the Malvinas, the contents of which provide further proof of Argentina's geopolitical sovereignty over the Malvina Islands.

In 2018 , at the G20 Summit held in Buenos Aires , new fishing agreements were signed with Russia and China . These agreements, along with the granting of illegal fishing licenses in the Malvinas and illegal fishing operations on the high seas and in the EEZ, the logistical use of Montevideo ports, and transshipments at sea, demonstrate a policy of foreign ownership of the South Atlantic.

The same year, the Foreign Ministry requested ^[86] to the National Congress the ratification - approved by Law 25.290 - of the International Convention for the Conservation of Tuna in the South Atlantic , with "the naive interest" of preserving a species that is not present in the Argentine EEZ or in the adjacent high seas ^[87] and whose Convention was approved ^[88] , among others, by the United Kingdom, which would thus have greater influence on fisheries issues in the South Atlantic. The initiative is rejected in Congress by opposition Senators and Deputies, despite the insistence of the Argentine Foreign Ministry.

This year, Argentine and Swiss resident Marcelo Gustavo Kohen, who has been a member of the Malvinas National Council coordinated by then-Secretary Guillermo Carmona since 2020, traveled to the Malvinas to propose a plan to the islanders that envisions continuing the current immigration regime and holding a referendum for these islanders to decide whether they wish to join his plan or remain British . If this were to happen, it would surely repeat the 2013 referendum of joining the United Kingdom. He ratifies his presentation at the Argentine Council on Foreign Relations (CARI), where he explains his plan, which clearly shows that it is based on accepting the British position of prioritizing "the wishes of the islanders" over the Argentine position of "territorial integrity" provided for in the First Transitory Provision of the National Constitution.

In 2019, LATAM flights were approved under the Foradori-Duncan Pact. ^[89] between the Malvinas Islands and São Paulo and a monthly flight to Córdoba, which means facilitating trade with Brazil and the rest of the world for the islanders through São Paulo, while also contributing to the logistics and transportation of people and goods for the islanders.

This year , offshore oil exploration areas in an area between the Malvinas Islands and the Argentine mainland were put out to tender and approved in favor of British companies. The Ministry of Energy awarded offshore exploration contracts for 100,000 km2 in the southern region of the South Atlantic in 18 tendered areas in the Malvinas Basin to Shell; BP Exploration Operating Company Limited; Tullow Oil; Equinor, and others, disregarding the prohibitions established in Law 26.659 and without involving the Undersecretariat of Fisheries or the Ministry of Environmental Development in the preparation of the bidding documents. This weakens Argentina's position in the southern region of the South Atlantic, while damaging the ecosystem.

In the same year , Decree of Necessity and Urgency No. 145 of 2/25/19 was issued. " The owner or operator of a vessel with a valid fishing permit may establish a real right of guarantee with respect to his obligations to provide sums of money, on the fishing permit of which he is the holder, and/or the capture authorization and/or the individual capture quota, that said permit holds." For this reason, fishing entrepreneurs could use fishing permits and quotas as collateral to finance the construction of vessels and/or any other type of loan, despite the fact that the fishing resources, temporarily authorized to fish through these instruments, are the exclusive property of the State and the entrepreneur is a mere concessionaire.    

In 2019, four multipurpose ocean patrol vessels (OPV) were acquired from France and delivered between 2020 and 2022. There are controversial positions regarding these purchases since, on the one hand, there are authoritative opinions that understand that they could have been built in Argentina at a similar value, generating Argentine employment, reactivating the national naval industry and avoiding the outflow of foreign currency from the country and, on the other hand, there are those who believe that they are not the appropriate vessels due to their technical capabilities, their low speed and available weapons.

2019-2023 Government of Alberto Fernández ^[90] , Foreign Ministers Felipe Sola ^[91] , Santiago Cafiero [92]

In 2020 , on January 31, 2020, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson finalized a no-deal Brexit with the European Union. This could be seen as an opportunity for Argentina to negotiate appropriately with the European Union, in light of the Eurosur Agreement and the European Union's tariff policy, which could have placed the Malvina Islands in the same tariff situation as all products exported from Argentina to the European Union. The Argentine Foreign Ministry and ambassadors to the United Kingdom, Spain, and others failed, and due to Spain's actions, fishery products caught in the Malvinas would enter the European Union tariff-free for three years. This is clearly detrimental to Argentine products exported to that community, thereby consolidating business in the Malvinas and Spanish-British partnerships. 

In February of this year The first multipurpose ocean patrol vessel, the ARA “ Bouchard ”, acquired in France the previous year, arrives.

That same year, the Secretariat for the South Atlantic, Malvinas, and Antarctica was created within the Foreign Ministry (Law 27,558). This prioritized the issue within the Foreign Ministry, which would allow Argentina to demonstrate greater concern regarding the Malvinas, San Pedro (South Georgia), South Sandwich Islands, maritime areas, and Antarctica. However, over the years, the Foreign Ministry's actions have become limited to seeking dialogue, cooperation, and rhetorical support from the international community, which have been innocuous since 1965 with the enactment of United Nations Resolution 2065 (XX). This National Council, unusually, was formed without the inclusion of members of the Ministry of Defense or the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and was composed of several members who were the masterminds behind the signing of agreements that froze national sovereignty. Surely the reason is that no significant action has been taken by the Council to comply with the provisions of the First Transitional Provision of the National Constitution.

Joint fisheries investigations with the United Kingdom , which had been reactivated during the administration's administration in 2016 and which provided the United Kingdom with all sensitive information regarding fisheries resources, which are the main economic resource of the Malvinas Islands and one of the main resources of the Patagonian coast, are being suspended. The Joint Commission is not repealed, nor are the aforementioned investigations definitively canceled.

That same year, the President of the Nation announced a new policy regarding the Malvinas Islands . On March 1, at the beginning of the Ordinary Sessions of Congress, the President of the Nation announced three projects: the creation of a Commission composed of the opposition and experts; the ratification of the delimitation of spaces according to the new outer limits of the Argentine Continental Shelf; and the application of sanctions to foreign vessels fishing illegally in the South Atlantic. There were no active "nonlinear" policies, as the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Paleo, would say. The actions were limited to the well-known Argentine diplomatic actions from 1965 to the present, which included unsuccessful attempts at dialogue with London; unilateral cooperation and the search for rhetorical support, which proved completely innocuous for the British. Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay provided logistical support for the Malvinas Islands.

Law 27,564, passed this year, increases penalties for illegal fishing . This law remains a dead letter because no sanctions have ever been applied to the more than 120 foreign vessels fishing in the Malvinas Islands since 1976, averaging 250,000 tons of fishery products, and more than 500 vessels operating on the high seas and using the port of Montevideo for their logistics, as well as vessels fishing in the Malvinas Islands.

In 2021, the three announcements mentioned during 2020 were not fulfilled, since, on the one hand, the integration of the Malvinas Council was carried out with some members who do not comply with the provisions of the First Transitory Provision of the Constitution, such as Marcelo Kohan, who in 2018 proposed a Plan to the Malvinas islanders that, among other things, allowed them to continue determining who could or could not settle in the Malvinas and, after thirty years, enabled them to hold a referendum to determine whether they wanted to continue applying the regime he proposed or wanted to become independent or British. Likewise, the integration of Susana Ruiz Cerutti, who was one of the intellectual authors of the Madrid Agreements, etc. Furthermore, despite the time that has passed, no active policy aimed at recovering the Malvinas was implemented. Regarding the increased penalties for illegal fishing, no sanctions were applied to fishing companies operating in the Malvinas with illegal British licenses until the end of the mandate in 2023. Regarding areas related to the continental shelf, more than 1.4 million ^km2 claimed by Argentina were not recommended by the Boundary Commission because it considered them to be in dispute with the United Kingdom and Argentina, and no action was taken in this regard.

That same year , sanctions were announced against oil companies operating in the Malvinas. These were the British-based oil companies Chrysaor Holdings Limited and Harbour Energy Plc., and the Israeli-based Navitas Petroleum LP, associated with companies operating in the basin north of the Malvinas archipelago without Argentine authorization. These actions do not appear likely to have positive results, judging by similar actions against other companies in 2015. Similar sanctions are not imposed on fishing companies that catch an annual average of 250,000 tons in the Malvinas.

This year, the failure of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, and in particular of the Malvinas Secretariat and the embassies in the United Kingdom, Spain, Brussels, etc., is confirmed by the European Union's approval, at the request of Spain, that over the next three years 75,000 tons of squid caught annually in the Malvinas Islands will be able to enter the EU tariff-free. This fact consolidates the islanders' economic position and represents unfair competition for similar products sent to companies authorized by Argentina.

This year, the Ministry of Environmental Development of the Nation authorizes EQUINOR to operate . Approving the Energy reports, the Undersecretariat of Fisheries, INIDEP and the PEN by Decree 900/21 of 30/12/2021, the offshore operations of EQUINOR and Shell off the coast of Mar del Plata are authorized, reducing the royalties for exploitation by half for a term of 20 years. All of this in violation of the Solanas Law (26.659).

The Malvinas Secretariat, at the proposal of the National Council, approved humanitarian flights for the islanders. It offered the United Kingdom "humanitarian flights" operated by Aerolíneas Argentinas to transport the islanders to their homes. Instead of using these flights to transport scientists to Antarctica, departing from Ushuaia instead of the Malvinas Islands, as had been the case in recent months, or using them to transport the families of combatants killed in the Malvinas Islands. The United Kingdom rejected the offer and stated that it is the islanders who determine matters of transfers, etc.

This year, the Ministry of Defense ordered the construction of a polar vessel for the Argentine Navy at the TANDANOR Shipyard. This project will support the Irizar icebreaker in supplying Argentine bases in Antarctica, thereby strengthening Argentina's presence in the Argentine Antarctic continent. This measure also shifts the focus of building abroad.

The Ministry of Defense also commissioned INVAP to develop a naval helicopter , the RUAS 160, which will serve as a prototype, with the aim of using national technology for the development and control of the South Atlantic, demonstrating the potential for progress in promoting national technologies to optimize controls by the Armed Forces and Security at sea.

The Ministry of Defense has launched the new Joint Maritime Command, dedicated to the surveillance and control of maritime and riverine spaces, and the Joint Maritime Command Operations Center (CCM), to coordinate the three forces' work in safeguarding Argentine waters. This is considered a step forward compared to the military limitations imposed by the Madrid Agreements, which remain in force.

Some 500 Chinese, Spanish, Korean, Taiwanese, and illegally flagged vessels from the Malvinas catch one million tons of fish and squid in the South Atlantic every year, and more than one hundred foreign vessels fish illegally in the Malvinas area with illegal British licenses. To this we must add the presence of foreign fishing vessels, merchant vessels, and large container ships that, due to their size, reach the South Atlantic via the Pacific through the Strait of Magellan. This area is not properly coordinated with Chile, given the lack of sufficient resources of the Argentine Navy and the Naval Prefecture to control the entire South Atlantic, a clear sign of Argentina's weakness.

In June 2021, the second patrol boat, the ARA “Piedrabuena,” arrived, and the third, the ARA “Storni,” arrived in Argentina in December 2021.

In 2022 , the foreign ownership of the Argentine sea will deepen. As a result of the sanction ^[93] Law 24.922, which does not promote tools to prevent the foreign ownership of the Argentine sea; fishing in the Malvinas Islands and especially the capture of migratory resources originating in the Argentine EEZ on the high seas, shows that while in 1970 all fishing companies were national, in 2022, seven of the ten main exporting companies are national with foreign capital, and the investors are Spanish, American, and Chinese who acquire the share capital of the most important fishing companies. At the same time, foreign companies from China, Spain-British, Taiwanese, Korean, and others illegally take one million tons of Argentine resources worth approximately $4 billion annually. This situation remains in effect to this day.

That same year , the government nominated Marcelo Gustavo Kohen to the International Court of Justice . A Swiss-based lawyer and professor at an obscure Geneva-based institute, ranked 1,913th among the world's institutes and universities, he presented a plan to the Malvina Islands and the Argentine Council on International Relations (CARI) that, among other things, separated the islands from Tierra del Fuego; granted the islanders fishing resources; recognized their rights to determine who could or could not settle in the archipelagos; and, after 30 years, enabled them to vote in a referendum to determine whether they wanted to remain part of the United Kingdom; an issue that had already been made abundantly clear in 2013.

The Argentine ambassador to Great Britain, Javier Figueroa, tells the English that  " The United Kingdom and Argentina have enjoyed a diplomatic relationship since 1823, " treating the heroes of the Malvinas as "boys , " ignoring the invasion of the Malvinas in 1833; the 1982 war; the appropriation of island and maritime territories; and the exploitation of fishing and hydrocarbon resources, foreshadowing a policy of seduction that the Argentine Foreign Ministry has pursued, with honorable exceptions, from 1982 to the present day.

The Ministry of Defense announces the construction of the Argentine Antarctic Military Logistics Hub at the current Ushuaia Naval Base. This includes the redevelopment of Petrel Base, with the intention of transforming it into a gateway to Antarctica to compete with the British bases in the Malvinas and Punta Arenas in Chile.

This year, within the framework of the Annual Antarctic Plan, 187 Argentine scientists and technicians are conducting research at ten of Argentina's thirteen bases in Antarctica, particularly at Marambio Base, and aboard ships. They will address issues related to scientific knowledge on a variety of topics. This is considered a very important task, not only for the research work but also for Argentina's presence in Antarctica.

In contrast, in 2022, the installation of a LeoLabs Inc. radar capable of monitoring military satellites was authorized in the town of Tolhuin in Tierra del Fuego. Despite repeated complaints, the rejection of the Argentine Ministry of Defense, and the qualification of a "Threat to National Security" by the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Lieutenant General Paleo, it remains installed and active, serving British interests.  

The United Kingdom has installed a Sky Sabre anti-missile system in the Malvinas, replacing the ground-based defense system they had in place since 1982 with this modern military system, contrasting with Argentina's limited military capability.

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Recovery of the Malvinas Islands, the Malvinas Secretariat, with the support of the Malvinas National Council, presents a Malvinas Agenda that, among other things, sanctioned Law 27,671 for mandatory training for all officials of the National State on the Malvinas Question. The Malvinas Secretariat limited its actions to holding protocol events, traveling abroad, courses and tributes to War Veterans without highlighting the Recovery of the Malvinas Islands after 149 years of uninterrupted British occupation.  

In 2023, the Foradori-Duncan Pact will be suspended without repealing them; nor will the Madrid Agreements, leaving active - in our opinion - the effects of the aforementioned Pact, since the Foreign Minister proposes to the United Kingdom on several points to restart negotiations for the sovereignty of the Malvinas, stating that " our country has sought to collaborate on specific issues such as flights, scientific activity in Antarctica or conservation and preservation of fishing resources" , that is, the unilateral cooperation that we have referred to; that " issues of mutual interest be addressed, which contain at least..." work together to identify new areas of collaboration: 1) "R esuming negotiations on sovereignty." In this state, an unlikely event, which should begin by discarding the Madrid Agreements, especially clause 2 of the Agreement of 10/19/89; 2) " The air and maritime connectivity of the Malvinas Islands...and the surrounding maritime spaces with the mainland." This issue remains relevant, as there is no requirement that flights be operated by Aerolíneas Argentinas to the mainland; flights to other countries are considered intolerable and a surrender of sovereignty; 3) " Guarantee the interests and way of life of the inhabitants of the Islands in such a way as to promote the development of cultural, economic, health, educational, and other ties between the Malvinas Islands and the Argentine mainland." These are all issues included in the Shackleton report, in the policies pursued by Lanusse, and in the " fallen " Pact; and the Argentine note also does not mention changes to the immigration system, settlement, investment, etc., of Argentines in the Malvinas; 4) " Measures that allow for adjusting the use, conservation, and preservation of natural resources in the area under sovereignty dispute." This point preserves everything provided for in the Pact on fishing, making it unacceptable that the Foreign Ministry refers to the " exploitation, conservation and preservation of Argentine natural resources " which, coinciding with the Madrid Agreements and according to British statistics, foreign vessels fish in the Malvinas Islands some 250 thousand tons annually, without successive Argentine governments to date having sanctioned a single vessel, despite the validity of laws 24.922, 26.386 and 27.564; 5) " The demilitarization of areas under sovereignty dispute" omits the demand for the withdrawal of the occupation and exploitation of the 1,639,900 km2 that the United Kingdom arrogantly occupies. And highlights the Note from Foreign Minister Cafiero, we assume prepared by his Secretary for the Malvinas Islands, Carmona: " The will to continue the bilateral relationship in all areas where progress has been made and where courses of action have been proposed and where no disagreements have arisen ," that is, leaving aside the main issues of territorial occupation and exploitation of fishing and hydrocarbon resources by the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic, among others, where there are disagreements, thus emptying the "cancellation" of the Pact of any substance. And in this sense, the much-maligned former President Isabel Perón had more courage than all the presidents of democracy: Faced with the United Kingdom's decision to suspend negotiations and send the Shacketton mission on January 13, 1976, she requested the withdrawal of the British ambassador in Buenos Aires and ordered the shelling of the ship that was sailing without authorization through Argentine territorial waters, among other actions against the usurper. Today, in the face of economic and military weakness, any action other than pursuing active and effective diplomatic policies, which are lacking, would be unfeasible.

Until the end of this presidency's term, Congresswoman Graciela Camaño, with the support of the Foreign Ministry, the Malvinas Secretariat and the Undersecretariat of Fisheries, attempted to pass in Congress the Blue Hole Marine Protected Area bill, designed by the American NGO Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), owner of islands in the Malvinas Islands, which, in violation of the First Transitory Provision of the National Constitution, would have ensured the arrival of fishing resources to the Malvinas Islands, hindering Argentine fishing operations and completing the northeastern area of the "Blue Belt" designed by the United Kingdom in 2017. This project was rejected by companies, unions and experts (among which we count ourselves).              

This year, the Ministry of Defense assigned three domestically manufactured aircraft to control the southern region , and the Malvinas Secretariat and the Malvinas National Council limited themselves to trips, formal events, talks, and tributes to the fallen, combatants, and war veterans.   

2023-2027 Government of Javier Milei ^[94] , Chancellor Diana Mondino [95] , Chancellor Gerardo Wertheim [96]

In 2024 , President Milei ordered the annual budget to be rejected. Due to the country's high inflation, he froze funds for the armed naval forces, maritime and river security, and control, further hampering the administration and control of the South Atlantic and the implementation of any policy to strengthen national sovereignty in the southern part of the Southwest Atlantic and Antarctica, as well as the control of illegal fishing, slave labor, and drug trafficking.   

Foreign Minister Diana Mondino declares that it is necessary to respect the rights of the islanders, contrary to the provisions of the First Transitory Provision of the National Constitution and Argentina's doctrine of territorial integrity.

That same year, the National Executive Branch submitted to Congress the Basic Law (Omnibus), which seeks to reform the Fishing Law by allowing foreign fishing companies access to the Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for a fee . This was unprecedented in the developed world and would foreignize the Argentine sea and prevent any Argentine control in the Southwest Atlantic, weakening its administration. Further undermining the seriousness of the measure, it also authorized landings outside national ports, the entry of vessels of any age, and the use of foreign crews on fishing vessels. At the same time, it repealed Law 26,386, which prohibited vessels authorized by the Enforcement Authority from fishing in the Malvinas Islands without national authorization, and vice versa. This would consequently allow vessels fishing in the Malvinas Islands with an illegal British license, including those under Spanish-British partnerships, to fish in the EEZ , a true exercise of national sovereignty. This project was withdrawn by the government due to the strong opposition from business, union, political, and expert sectors (among them those of us who write these lines).                

The Commissioner of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands extended the "fishing ban" from 283,000 to 449,000 km2 in the so-called illegal United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Ecological Sanctuary of 1,070,000 km2 surrounding the Islands. This violated not only Argentine sovereignty but also the Convention on Antarctic Living Resources. This constituted a new unilateral act, with no action taken by the Argentine Foreign Ministry. Foreign Minister Diana Mondino and the Malvinas Secretariat of the Foreign Ministry, Paola Di Chario; the diplomatic representatives of the Convention on Antarctic Marine Living Resources and the Protection of the Antarctic Marine Environment; Fernando Vilella of the Secretariat of Bioeconomy; of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries Juan Antonio López Cazorla and the Federal Fisheries Council, violate by action or omission the First Transitory Provision of the National Constitution and all applicable Argentine legislation (Laws 15.802; 22.584; 23.775 ; 23.968; 24.216; 24.543; 24.922; 25.263; 25.675; 26.386; 26.651; 26.776 and 27.564). Regardless of the responsibility that could fall on the governor of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the Atlantic Islands Gustavo Melella in his provincial jurisdiction. The progress on the prohibition of navigation and fishing in an area 166,000 km2 over the existing Marine Protected Area violates the aforementioned Convention and UN Resolution 31/49 of 1/12/1976, promoted by the government of Isabel Martínez de Perón, which urged " both parties to refrain from taking decisions that entail the introduction of unilateral modifications to the situation while the Islands are going through the process recommended in resolutions 2065 and 3160 "; the norms relating to the Antarctic Convention and all Argentine legislation relating to Argentine territorial, fishing and environmental rights.

In addition to the existing ports in San Pedro (South Georgia) and the Malvinas, the United Kingdom has announced the construction of a new port in the Malvinas, a $194 million project financed by Rothschild Bank. It is estimated to be open in 2027. This will improve logistics on the islands and provide an airport for large aircraft. This will facilitate the operations of large cargo ships that use the Strait of Magellan to access the Pacific, given the impossibility of doing so through the Panama Canal. Likewise, these will facilitate the operations of large cargo ships that transit from the Indian Ocean, tourist contingents, and foreign fishing vessels operating in the southern part of the Southwest Atlantic. It will also promote the global scientific interest of those working in Antarctica, displacing the ports of Tierra del Fuego in all of these activities. The United Kingdom's objective is to establish a Regional Hub in the Malvinas.

Foreign Minister Mondino and the Secretary of the Malvinas Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, Paola Di Chiaro, are absent from the VIII Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) where “ the countries of the region reaffirmed their support for Argentina’s sovereign rights in the question of the Malvinas Islands, in accordance with the provisions of Resolution 31/49 of the United Nations General Assembly .”

Without interruption, Argentines continue to be misinformed about the true seriousness of the British invasion of the Argentine archipelagos and sea: Chancellor Mondino's position is -at least- contradictory: she questions that Russia would be occupying 18% of the territory of Ukraine and does not denounce that the United Kingdom invades or disputes 46.64% of Argentine territory; that is, a larger space than the Argentine American continental territory (2,791,810 km2) and the Argentine Antarctic (965,314 km2); since the  The United Kingdom has invaded and/or disputed 5,497,178 km2 of Argentina's national territory; that is, 46.64% of the territory, as it occupies and exploits 1,639,900 km2 of Argentine territory (corresponding waters, protection zone and GAP in the Malvinas Islands, and the Marine Protected Area and ecological sanctuary of 1,070,000 km2 around South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands); it disputes 2,426,911 km2 of the Antarctic continent and 1,430,367 km2 of the continental shelf with Argentina.

Through the actions or inaction of Argentine authorities, the Argentine river and maritime front is being weakened. A lack of proper management of the Paraná-Paraguay waterway trunk line , which does not favor the regional development of Argentina's northeastern coast, and the authorization for the deepening of the Montevideo Port channel without an equivalent effort in the planned Magdalena Canal, impedes the proper integration of Argentina's river-maritime trade network and favors the logistics of illegal high-seas fishing of migratory fish originating in the Exclusive Economic Zone and the Malvinas Islands. This weakens sovereignty in the archipelagos of the Southwest Atlantic and, most particularly, in the populations of Patagonia, whose population density is among the lowest in the country.

Given the inaction of the Argentine Foreign Ministry, all operations related to the Malvinas are using Uruguay's ports and airports to facilitate fishing and oil operations in the Malvinas , as is the Chilean port of Punta Arenas. In other words, they are working to consolidate relations with these countries, despite South America's rhetorical stance in favor of Argentina and the lack of interest shown by Argentine officials in seeking agreements with its neighbors, especially those related to the South Atlantic and Antarctica.

Finally, in a clear demonstration of Britain's objective to occupy this strategic space in the Southwest Atlantic, the United Kingdom maintains a completely disproportionate missile and naval base on the islands, contrary to the "South Atlantic Zone of Peace and Cooperation" signed by all the countries of West Africa and East America and approved in 1986 by United Nations Resolution 41/11. All of these acts strengthen the United Kingdom's influence in Antarctica, which may be immeasurable and very likely irreversible, given the tolerance and passivity of the Argentine Foreign Minister.

Without the Foreign Ministry having any active policy, the United Kingdom has a policy designed for all the Overseas Archipelagos that it considers part of the British Commonwealth of Nations and, among them, the one announced in 2017 regarding the establishment of a "Blue Belt" for the islands, under the pretext of protecting the environment around them, which in reality, is nothing other than constituting areas of British marine control, which is the one carried out in the Malvinas, San Pedro (South Georgia) and Sandwich Islands, such is the case of the "Ecological Sanctuary" of 1,070,000 km2 established around the San Pedro (South Georgia) and South Sandwich Islands in 2011, which is now deepened by the absolute fishing ban of 166,000 km2 that was added to the determination of the GAP Area of 4,000 km2 northwest of the Malvinas where a large part of the squid that is the sustenance of the Malvinas.

Nor does the Foreign Ministry pursue a post-Brexit policy regarding its relations with the European Union to ensure that all fishery products caught in the Malvinas do not enter the European Union without paying import duties, especially on Spain, which, with companies based in Argentina, authorizes Galician vessels to fish in the Malvinas and partner with British companies in the islands; without, as we said, Argentina applying any sanctions.   

Incidentally, the Madrid Agreements I and II , which limit national naval and air defense actions, remain in force ; they effectively allow the capture of Argentine fishing resources.

The foreignization of the South Atlantic and the appropriation of migratory resources originating in the EEZ on the high seas and the Malvinas are evident: Chinese, Spanish-British, Korean, Taiwanese and other companies have fished 48 million tons of fish since 1976 to date - with or without illegal British licenses - for a total estimated value of 192 billion dollars.

Regarding the fishing industry based on the Argentine continent, " of the total dollars of fishing exports declared in 2022 ( one of the lowest values of the five-year period, they were 434,000 tons worth US $ 1.8 billion ) from capture in its EEZ, 70% is in the hands of 20 business groups and 30% of the remaining 174 exporting companies. Of those 20 groups, 70% are foreign-capital companies and 30% are national companies, and of those foreign companies, 70% are Chinese and Spanish-capital companies" ( César Lerena " The Chinese, Spanish and British states take over Argentine fishing", 3/20/2023 ) . There are no policies in the Foreign Ministry, the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries; the Malvinas Secretariat or the Malvinas National Council or the Federal Fisheries Council to administer the Southwest Atlantic and peacefully recover the Malvinas.

Since taking office, Foreign Minister Diana Mondino has repeatedly shown sympathy for the British and the islanders occupying the Malvinas Islands, assigning rights to the latter as if they were parties to the Malvinas Question, violating the mandate of the First Transitory Provision of the National Constitution. She has also failed to file the corresponding claims before the various forums and ignoring the repeated violations of our unredeemed territories by the British Crown, various officials, and its armed forces. Minister Mondino reaffirms her pro-British policy with the appointment of former Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie as ambassador to Chile—a traditional ally of the United Kingdom in the region—and the appointment of Ambassador Carlos Foradori to Geneva, thereby endorsing the actions of the Argentine government in 2016. ratified at the recent Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Argentina and the United Kingdom, through the Press Release on the Malvinas Question of 24/9/24 (IP 470/24) where the contents of the Foradori Duncan Pact are ratified, through a new Mondino-Lammy Pact , which in its most salient parts indicates: "that the Argentine Foreign Minister, Diana Mondino, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, David Lammy, meeting in New York on 24/9/2024, advanced a broad agenda that includes aspects linked to the South Atlantic, applying this agenda and its results the sovereignty safeguard formula contained in paragraph 2 of the Joint Declaration of October 19, 1989. " The Parties agreed to resume the third phase of the Humanitarian Project Plan jointly with the Red Cross. The need to move forward with concrete measures regarding fisheries conservation and improved connectivity was also established, in accordance with the agreements reached in 2018, including the resumption of the weekly flight from São Paulo to the Islands, which made a monthly stopover in Córdoba... These objectives are none other than those indicated in the Foradori-Duncan Pact: "to adopt appropriate measures to remove all obstacles that limit economic growth and sustainable development in the Malvina Islands, including trade, fishing, navigation, and hydrocarbons." All of this without any contribution from the United Kingdom in return for this shameful concession from Argentina. Mariano Moreno told us: "There are decisions that cannot be made either drunk or asleep," that is, under any circumstances." This unworthy Mondino-Lammy Pact violates national sovereignty and the National Constitution; It once again ignores the National Congress and the majority will of the Argentine people, who did not give any mandate to the Chancellor to facilitate the British territorial occupation of our territories.

In February of this year , Mariana Edith Plaza was appointed Argentine ambassador to London in 2025. Plaza, who was the subject of a protest by the Confederation of Malvinas Combatants, the Federation of War Veterans of the Province of Buenos Aires, and a large part of the opposition political spectrum, stated that the diplomat had stated that "all claims and rights that Argentina has over the Malvinas Islands should be renounced" ( De Vedia Mariano, La Nación, 2/22/2025 ).

The foreign policy pursued by the Milei government, of exclusive alignment with the United States and Israel, isolates us from the group of nations that traditionally supported Argentina's claims to the Malvinas Islands. Our weakness, derived from a policy of import liberalization, deindustrialization, and destruction of the state, places Argentina in the worst possible position of foreign dependence to sustain our sovereign claims.

After 43 years of generally misguided policies regarding the Malvinas Islands, we should say that it is not about living in isolation from the world or resorting to military means, since Argentina is in no position to sustain any conflict, not only because it is unarmed, but also because of its extreme economic weakness and dependence. Nor is it about being Anglophobic or simply maintaining " against the English is better ," as the writer Ema Cibotti writes in her book, or using the " hand of God ," which expressed a popular sentiment held—even before us—by many Irish, Scottish, and Welsh people.

Our independence lifted the Spanish viceroyalty from us, but the English continued to exploit our resources in the country despite the Peace and Friendship Treaties or under the protection of agreements, such as the Madrid Agreement, which served to further expand their occupation of our territory. As the biblical teaching of David and Goliath tells us, it is necessary to use the best available resources to resolve this issue that hurts our feelings, since the Malvinas Islands, like the Blue Unicorn, are ours and we love them.

Alfonso Hernández-Catá told us: " War never begins with the first battle nor ends with the last " and we modestly reiterate that " Cancha Rayada has its Maipú " as it will also come to Malvinas, if our policy stops being: declaiming, demanding and cooperating unilaterally and, the officials instead of trembling and securing their salary, must walk with courage and intelligence towards the full sovereignty of our continental, insular and maritime territory.

Dr. Cesar Augusto Lerena

South Atlantic and Fisheries Expert – Former Secretary of State

President of the Agustina Lerena Foundation

President of the Center for Latin American Fisheries Studies (CESPEL)

www.cesarlerena.com.ar

[1] De facto President from 22.12.1981 to 18.06.1982 .

[2] Chancellor from 5.07.66 to 16.06.69 and from 22.12.81 to 2.07.82.

[3] May 21, 1982.

[4] President (1983-1989).

[5] Chancellor from 10.12.83 to 26.5.89.

[6] Something similar happened with the Beagle Channel negotiations, where the importance and legitimacy of Argentina's rights to abandoned islands in the far south was called into question. The Treaty of Peace and Friendship with Chile was signed in the Vatican on November 29, 1984, and sanctioned in Argentina in 1985, regarding the Beagle Channel dispute, where Argentina lost territory and accepted an EEZ without a territorial sea. There is a generation of Argentines between 30 and 40 years old from the post-1982 war who did not participate in it, who lack immunity because they "are de-Malvinized." The older generations were raised with an education of belonging to the Malvinas Islands.

[7] Signed in the Vatican on 29/11/1984 and ratified on 2/5/1985.

[8] June 17, 1984.

[9] July 18, 1984.

[10] October 30, 1984.

[11] The United Kingdom will have invaded by force 1,639,900 km2 of Argentine maritime territory (1 million ecological reserve), gap (1,900 km2) and EEZ (438,000 km2 - around the Malvinas and the same number of miles around San Pedro (South Georgia) and South Sandwich Islands)

[12] It goes beyond the geographical issue of the South Atlantic and includes archipelagos such as Cape Verde.

[13] Miembro de la British Commonwealth of Nations.

[14] Miembro de la British Commonwealth of Nations.

[15] (1) Calls upon all States in the South Atlantic area to promote enhanced regional cooperation, inter alia, for economic and social development, environmental protection, conservation of living resources, and peace and security in the entire region; (2) Calls upon all States in all other regions, in particular militarily important States, to scrupulously respect the South Atlantic region as a zone of peace and cooperation, in particular by reducing and eventually eliminating their military presence in the region, by not introducing nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, and by not extending into the region rivalries and conflicts that are not their own; (3) Calls upon all States in the region and all other regions to cooperate for the elimination of all sources of tension in the area, to respect the national unity, sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of all States in the region, to refrain from the threat or use of force and to strictly observe the principle that the territory of a State shall not be subjected to military occupation resulting in the use of force, in violation of the Charter of the United Nations, as well as the principle that the acquisition of territory by force is inadmissible;

[16] Khanyile, Moses Bongani, South Africa's security relations with the Mercosur countries, Doctoral Thesis (University of Pretoria), p. 203.

[17] June 1987 

[18] February 1981.

[19] February 12, 1988.

[20] October 29, 1986.

[21] September 19, 1988.

[22] President 1989-1999.

[23] Chancellor from July 8, 1989 to January 31, 1991 and Minister of Economy from March 1, 1991 to August 6, 1996.

[24] Chancellor from 31.1.91 to 10.12.99.

[25] In February 1981, the Argentine Foreign Ministry rejected a British proposal to "freeze the question of sovereignty for a specific period..."; an offer that Caputo embraced "without expiration date," although an agreement was not reached due to the premature end of the Radical government (1987/89), and Cavallo signed the Madrid Agreement, under the "protection of the Umbrella formula." The Joint Declaration on sovereignty was issued in Madrid on October 19, 1989. Arturo Frondizi told Cavallo regarding the Madrid Agreements, "For the Peronists, you are a traitor to the country."

[26] On August 16 and 17, 1989 (prior to Madrid), British Ambassador Crispin Tickell and Argentine Ambassador Lucio García del Solar met in New York. The British ambassador told him: "We ask that Argentina recognize the existence of an Exclusive Fishing Zone (FICZ). We are not asking the Argentine government to say anything in public, but rather to keep things moving." To which García del Solar responded: "Argentina is not asking for the lifting of the Fishing Zone; it is asking for the military zone." (sic). In practice, it was a payment to the winner of the 1982 Malvinas War.

[27] In a soccer game, the one who freezes the ball and holds it is the one who is winning the game, not the one who is losing.

[28] In November 1989.

[29] February 1990.

[30] October 1990.-

[31] November 13, 1990.

[32] November 28, 1990 (Clarín, Politics, page 3, 11/29/90).

[33] Law 23.968 (baselines and modification of the Customs Code) was sanctioned on 5.12.1991 and rapidly modified by Decree (DNU) 2623/91 on 12.12.91.

[34] According to Lucio García del Solar, after the negotiations in Madrid, "it was a promise to the British."

[35] November 4, 1992.

[36] Squid is an annual resource, so if Argentine vessels are not authorized to catch it, nothing will prevent it from reaching the Malvinas.

[37] April 1994.

[38] August 22, 1994.

[39] December 4, 1995.

[40] September 13, 1995.

[41] To allow for the ratification of UNCLOS, the Baseline Law was passed and Law 17.094 was amended. UNCLOS was ratified on 17.10.95 by Law 24543, reducing our territorial sea from 200 miles—according to Law 17.094—to just 12 miles and introducing the divisions into that territory of a 12-mile territorial sea, a contiguous sea from 12 to 24 miles, and an EEZ up to 200 miles. Argentina had not yet ratified the Convention because it did not address basic fisheries issues, especially those related to straddling fish stocks and migratory resources, such as the squid (Illex argentinus) or hake (Merluccius hubbsi), for example.

[42] The Argentine Continental Shelf extends 165 miles between Capes San Antonio and Corrientes and its widest part at latitude 51° Río Chico reaches 850 miles.

[43] Promulgated on January 6, 1998.

[44] Madrid, September 2 and 3, 1999. Meeting of the Secretary of RE with the Director for the Americas of England, Peter Westmacott.

[45] Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 1996 to 1999.

[46] Presidency of the Nation 1999-2001.

[47] Argentine Foreign Minister from 10.12.1999 to 20.12.2001.-

[48] June 2001

[49] President of the Nation from 2001 to 2003.

[50] Chancellor from 3.01.02 to 25.05.03.

[51] President of the Nation from 2003 to 2007.

[52] Chancellor from 25.05.03 to 01.12.05.

[53] Chancellor from 1.12.05 to 18.6.10.

[54] The Constitution originally failed due to the negative votes of France and the Netherlands. 

[55] The last meeting of the South Atlantic Fisheries Commission was scheduled to take place in December 2005, but it adjourned before starting.

[56] AGREE. Part VI, Art. 76, items 7 to 9.

[57] President of the Nation from 2007 to 2015.

[58] Chancellor from 1.12.05 to 18.6.10.

[59] Chancellor from 22.6.10 to 10.12.15.

[60] Law 26386 of 5/28/08 amending Law 24,922, published in the Official Gazette on 6/20/08.

[61] Maturana Roberto: “PESANTAR is a Japanese company established in Argentina in 1981. It exports surimi (fish paste) to Japan, processed and frozen on board its factory ships. These surimi fish are highly predatory, responsible for wiping out the Polish species. In all these decades, they have not generated jobs on land. It is part of the NISSUI group (whale hunters who capture whales in our Antarctica), which also owns PESPASA. The business group fishes in the Malvinas with a UK license from its Chilean subsidiary EMDEPES. Neither Pesantar nor Pespasa, after the 360-day period established by law had expired, declared that they were related to the aforementioned NISSUI group that fishes in the Malvinas. In December 2014, PESANTAR manager Juan Benegas, denounced the company for its ties to EMDEPES, which fishes in the Malvinas with the Islands' permission, which led to the company's capture permits being revoked. PESANTAR and PESPASA vessels will expire immediately without any judicial declaration...; but a Surimero vessel, according to the head of Newsan Food, Marcelo Glikman, generates 28 million dollars per year and no one has asked the business group to return the millions caught in the Argentine Sea and exported to Japan..." 02/03/15.

[62] Gasalla, Juan – Infobae, 06/17/2016. 

[63] 2009.

[64] ABC Biodiversity, 2/28/2012.

[65] January 24, 2013. Gasalla, Juan – Infobae, 06/17/2016. 

[66] Rockhopper Exploration plc, Premier Oil plc, Malvina Oil and Gas Limited (FOGL), Noble Energy Inc., and Edison International SpA, which formed the consortium for the Eirik Raude submersible rig, were joined by Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS), which provided vessels to conduct the field sustainability analyses; Desire Petroleum, which provided seismic data; Neptune EHF, which provided the vessel that would have conducted geochemical and environmental baseline studies; and Ocean Rig (Norway), owner of the Eirik Raude rig contracted to conduct the exploration.

[67] reformed by Law 17,711 of 1968.                                                                                                    

[68] Art. 235: Property belonging to the public domain: a) The territorial sea up to the distance determined by international treaties (12 miles) and special legislation (12 miles in Law 24.922), without prejudice to jurisdictional power over the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone, and the continental shelf. The territorial sea is understood to include water, the seabed, and the subsoil.   

[69] President of the Nation from 2015 to 2019.

[70] Chancellor from 10.12.15 to 12.06.17.

[71] Chancellor from 12.6.17 to 10.12.19.

[72] Created by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it is composed of 21 international experts in the field. 

[73] on March 11, 2016.

[74] Work began in 1996.

[75] on March 28, 2016, and March 17, 2017.

[76] Carlos Menem, Fernando de la Rúa, Eduardo Duhalde, Néstor Kirchner, Cristina Fernández, and Mauricio Macri.  

[77] September 13, 2016.

[78] The Overseas Territories Association of the United Kingdom.

[79] Law 26386 of 5/28/08 amending Law 24,922, published in the Official Gazette on 6/20/08.

[80] in March 2016.-

[81] Pesantar was an Argentine-based company dependent on Nissui of Japan. Juan Benegas learned that EMDEPES—also part of the sanctioned group—had a boat fishing in the Malvinas with British permission, in violation of Argentine law prohibiting such operations.

[82] Due to his complaint, he was fired from the company after 26 years of activity.

[83] Sanctioned on September 16, 2020.

[84] Gasalla, Juan – Infobae, 06/17/2016.

[85] Between June 26 and July 5, 2016.

[86] On June 15, 2018, Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie sent to the Senate the project PE/176/18, Message No. 85/18.

[87] Cousseau-Perrotta, INIDEP, 2000.

[88] The National Congress approved it by Law 25.290 on July 13, 2000, but has not yet ratified it. The Commission has 52 Contracting Parties, namely: United States, Japan, South Africa, Ghana, Canada, France, Brazil, Morocco, Korea, Ivory Coast, Angola, Russia, Gabon, Cape Verde, Uruguay, Sao Tome and Principe, Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, United Kingdom, Libya, China, European Union, Tunisia, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Namibia, Barbados, Honduras, Algeria, Mexico, Vanuatu, Iceland, Turkey, Philippines, Norway, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Senegal, Belize, Syria, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Nigeria, Egypt, Albania, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Curacao, Liberia, El Salvador and  Guinea-Bissau.

[89] LAN Airlines SA (Chile) partnered with TAM Linhas Aéreas SA (Brazil) to form LATAM Airlines Group SA

[90] President of the Nation with a term of 2019-2023.

[91] Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Worship (2019-2021).

[92] Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Worship (continuing in 2021).

[93] Promulgated on January 6, 1998.

[94] President of the Nation with a term of 2023-2027.

[95] Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Worship from 10/12/23 to 31/10/24.

[96] Appointed by Decree 980/2024