【明報專訊】On 21 May 1982 the UK's military forces made a landing on the Falkland Islands (福克蘭群島) during the Falklands War the country fought with Argentine over the disputed archipelago.
The islands
The Falkland Islands are about 480 km northeast of the southern tip of South America. They are made up of two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, and about 778 smaller islands. The Falklands are now a self-governing British colony, whose capital is Stanley on East Falkland.
The Falklands' first settlement was founded on Eastern Falkland in 1764 by the French. The next year, a British settlement was set up on West Falkland. It is not known whether the two settlements were aware of each other's existence. The French settlement was subsequently purchased by the Spanish, and the British were expelled. However, they restored their settlement in 1771. In 1829 Argentina laid claim to the Falkland Islands on the grounds that it had them by inheritance from Spain. The British took them back in 1833.
Background of the war
The United Kingdom and Argentina had been arguing about sovereignty over the islands before the war's outbreak in 1982, but domestic issues in the two countries contributed to it. Argentina was then ruled by a military junta (軍政府) headed by General Leopoldo Galtieri (加爾鐵里). It was in the midst of devastating economic stagnation and large-scale civil unrest against the military junta. To divert attention from domestic issues, Galtieri launched the war.
Britain, meanwhile, was also faced with economic problems. Margaret Thatcher (戴卓爾夫人), who became Prime Minister of the UK in 1979, had unveiled a series of budget cuts. The cost of maintaining the Falklands actually had the Thatcher administration consider transferring their sovereignty to the Argentine government. But talks between the two countries foundered, and tensions escalated. On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded and occupied the Falkland Islands with some 10,000 troops.
Britain's victory
Thatcher responded by dispatching a naval task force. Conqueror, a nuclear submarine, set off from Scotland on April 3. Two aircraft carriers (航空母艦), Invincible and Hermes, left Portsmouth two days afterwards.
During the war, both sides suffered casualties and lost vessels. ARA General Belgrano, an Argentine light cruiser, was sunk on May 2. The 368 crew members on board were killed. Two days afterwards, the British lost the Type 42 destroyer (42型驅逐艦) HMS Sheffield to fire.
During the night of May 21, the British mounted Operation Sutton, the landing on East Falkland. The Battle of San Carlos ensued, in which the British sustained severe losses and damage but managed to create and consolidate a beachhead and land troops.
The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with Britain's occupation of Stanley. Argentina surrender on June 14.
Subsequent developments
Argentina's defeat severely weakened its military government. Within days of the fall of Stanley, Galtieri was removed from power, and democracy was restored to the country. The British victory significantly boosted Thatcher's popularity, contributing to the Conservative Party's (保守黨) victory in the 1983 general election.
Inhabitants of the Falkland Islands remain overwhelmingly in favour of British rule, as shown by a referendum held on 10 and 11 March 2013. The Falkland Islanders were asked whether they supported the continuation of the Falklands' status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom in view of Argentina's call for negotiations on the islands' sovereignty. More than 90% of them turned out, and 99.8% of them voted that the Falklands should remain the UK's overseas territory, with only three votes against.
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