Beginning today, 10^th March, inhabitants of the Falklands/Malvinas islands will vote on whether they would like to remain under British governance.

1,672 islanders are expected to vote in the referendum, which will continue until tomorrow. Voters will respond to the question, “Do you want the Falklands/Malvinas islands to maintain their current political status as an overseas territory of the United Kingdom?”

The public vote marks the first time in the islands’ history in which the people living on the Falklands/Malvinas will voice their opinions via ballot about their status as a territory of the United Kingdom.

Darren Christie, in charge of the islands’ public relations, said yesterday, “For the interest that it provokes in the world, we know that this is the most important event for the Falklands/Malvinas Islands since 1982.”

The islanders are expected to vote in favour of the question to remain British.

The Argentine national government does not anticipate the outcome of the vote to make an impact on the status of the islands nor its claims to the disputed territory. However, the islanders maintain that the international community, including Argentina, cannot ignore its right to self-determination. The islands’ Legislative Assembly explained, “Today we are not a colony of the United Kingdom, we are a British overseas territory. It is a status that we maintain by election.”

Though the Falklands/Malvinas islanders are not worried about the outcome of the referendum, they want to ensure that the entire population eligible to vote does so, and have adopted some unique measures to ensure that this happens. Besides opening up voter registration a couple of weeks ago to residents who have a legitimate reason to not vote on the designated days, officials have created a system of four mobile ballot boxes that will move around the islands aboard Land Rovers to facilitate the voting process. Ballots will also be boarded onto a plane and delivered to hard-to-reach places amongst the islands.

The plebiscite comes during a strong push by both governments to engage in diplomatic negotiations to discuss the sovereignty of the islands.

Voting began at 8am local time today and will close at 11pm tomorrow night.

US Secretary of State John Kerry (photo courtesy of the US Department of State)

United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, announced today that the US would not take a stance on the issue of Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty.

However, he stated that the US recognises the de facto government of the UK on the islands. Kerry also commented that the US government, “supports practical cooperation” between London and Buenos Aires and called for a “peaceful solution” to the conflict. He confirmed that the position of the US government regarding the Falklands/Malvinas has not changed.

Kerry made the announcement in London today at the end of a meeting with British Foreign Secretary and Secretary of State William Hague. The US diplomat is currently on an 11-day tour of Europe and the Middle East, his first official foreign trip as secretary of state.

Kerry’s announcement coincided with Argentina denouncing the UK for bringing nuclear weapons to the islands.

The national government presented a case to the Conference of Disarmament of the United Nations today, accusing the UK of introducing nuclear weapons into the islands in violation of international treaties that ban this type of armament in the region.

Argentine secretary of foreign relations, Eduardo Zuain, stated at the UN conference today that, “We found in a … chapter of the implementation of the Treaty of Tlatelolco that the nuclear armament of Latin America and the Caribbean is completely prohibited.” He asserted that the conditions of this treaty have been, “defied by the United Kingdom.” The secretary added, “The Republic of Argentina is especially worried by this possibility, confirmed for the first time by the British government in 2003, that it would introduce nuclear arms in the South Atlantic.”

The Argentine government attested that the UK has unjustifiably sent troops into the Falklands/Malvinas and has recently moved in submarines with the capacity to carry nuclear arms into the zone.

The government of Argentina will take legal action against Premier Oil after the British company announced that it would begin oil exploration activities off the disputed coast of the Falkland Islands.

Premier Oil has reportedly partnered with Rockhopper, another British oil company, and is expected to provide $USD 770 million to help build infrastructure that will enable the extraction of  unknown quantities of oil and gas in the Sea Lion oil field.

The deposit is said to contain between 608 and 1280 million barrels of crude oil.

According to Terra News, the Embassy of Argentina in London sent a letter to Premier Oil stating that “oil exploration activities undertaken by the firm Rockhopper Exploration PLC on the continental shelf in Argentina are illegal, and Argentina has initiated the appropriate legal action.”

Argentina claims that other companies such as Argos Resources, Falkland Oil and Gas Limited (FOGL), Borders & Southern Petroleum and Desire Petroleum are also involved in ¨illicit¨ hydrocarbons activities and has taken similar legal measures.

Although Britain won the 1982 war fought over the Falkland Islands, Argentina still claims sovereignty over the territory. In June, Britain announced that it would be holding a referendum on the island´s political status.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner began the country’s main ceremony in remembrance of the Falklands/Malvinas War today at midday.

The ceremony takes place in Plaza Islas Malvinas to mark the 30 year anniversary of the conflict between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

The president, accompanied by members of her cabinet, vice-president Amado Boudou and local authorities, will give a speech followed by words from Tierra del Fuego governor Fabiana Rios. In total there will be five speakers, including war veterans from around the country.

A monument bearing a map of the Malvinas and a cenotaph with the names of soldiers lost in the conflict are located in the square.

Other acts of commemoration are happening throughout the country. Today at 11.30am, the names of the 649 soldiers killed in the conflict were placed on a cenotaph in Plaza San Martín, Retiro. In Plaza de Mayo, ex-soldier who were placed in military bases in Patagonia laid replicas of the cross in memory of those killed.

As a sign of protest, the Quebracho group along with other organisations will march from 1pm, from the cenotaph in Retiro to the British embassy.

The former British Vice-Admiral who was in charge of the attack that sunk the “General Belgrano” has, on the 30^th Anniversary of the Falklands/Malvinas War, justified the action that resulted in 323 deaths.

Speaking to Portsmouth local newspaper “The News,” Vice-Admiral Sir Tim McClement explained the attack and assured that the sinking of the “General Belgrano” was a “matter of survival.”

“I have no doubt that sinking the Belgrano was what I had to do,” he stated.

The Vice-Admiral was second in charge of the HMS Conquerer, the submarine that shot torpedoes at the “General Belgrano” which consequently sunk, 2^nd May 1982. The attack stands as the most controversial moment in the conflict between the United Kingdom and Argentina over the sovereignty of the Malvinas/Falkland Islands.

The Vice-Admiral stated that an attack was not premeditated, but that when the “General Belgrano” entered into disputed water territory, he was given the order to proceed. “In a war you have to make difficult decisions and people die,” he said.

The conflict began in 1982, when the Argentine military junta occupied the islands on 2^nd April.  255 British and 650 Argentine soldiers were killed. The war ended on the 14^th June with a British victory.

As the tension surrounding the Malvinas/Falkland Islands rises, the Argentine ambassador in Chile, Ginés Gonzáles García, has compared UK prime minister David Cameron to Margaret Thatcher in an interview with ‘El Cronista.’

Speaking today, the ambassador and ex-Minister for Health claimed that “at some point, Cameron is repeating what Thatcher did.” He stated that the “defence of an old empire always has some sort of internal political motivation” but that there is a difference between the two conflicts. “This time there is no rationale, there is no Argentine attitude to justify this.”

Ginés also denied any intention of the Argentine government to suspend flights from Punta Arenas to the Malvinas. He claimed that there were no plans to prohibit flights, but that flights are not to cross Argentine airspace. “We are simply telling them not to cross Argentine skies, and to take another route. We are not going to ban them.”

The ambassador continued by clarifying Chile’s position on the situation. He claimed that the Chilean role in the conflict is “fundamental”, since the country is leading the presentations to the United Nations, to force the UK to agree to negotiations. He also stated that Chile is backing Argentina in its claims to the islands.

Ginés concluded the interview by naming Great Britain as “the inventors of colonialism” by pointing out that of the 16 colonial conflicts worldwide, ten involve the United Kingdom.

A number of protests took place in Buenos Aires yesterday as Prince William arrived on duty in the Falkland Islands. The British government insists his visit will be a routine, humanitarian mission.

Members from two youth factions of the governing Peronist party (supporters of the president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner), protested outside the British Embassy in the capital.

In another part of town militants from the Quebracho association, a radical leftist group, threw paint bombs and stones at the headquarters of a British bank until the infantry stepped in to remove them. Meanwhile the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, a group known for fighting for social justice in Argentina, dedicated their weekly Thursday meeting outside the Casa Rosada to the Falkland protests.

Outside the British embassy, people burnt the British national flag to express their anger at what they believe to be the provocative timing of Duke of Cambridge’s deployment on the Southern Atlantic islands. A popular slogan among the crowd was, “Get the English out of the Falklands.”

The news of the Duke of Cambridge’s deployment coincides with the announcement that the HMS Dauntless is to be sent across the Atlantic to the Falklands on her maiden voyage.

The British defence secretary, Philip Hammond, denied that William’s arrival should be considered a provocation.

“He’s there as a search and rescue pilot; that’s a humanitarian function and it’s a routine deployment… All UK naval and air force search and rescue pilots do a stint in the Falklands and Prince William is doing his tour now.” The prince is expected to leave the islands in March, before the anniversary date on the second of April.

The diplomatic relations between the two countries are suffering as the governments have recently been engaging in a war of words, accusing one another of “colonialism.”

Argentina wants to reopen discussions about the sovereignty of the islands while the UK government maintains that the islanders have the right to self-determination and should remain British as long as that’s what they want.

The British Navy announced today that it will send a warship to the Falkland / Malvinas Islands in the next few months.

Although the deployment was reported as previously scheduled, this comes at a time of heightened tensions between the Argentine and British governments over the sovereignty of the Islands.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence insisted to the BBC that the Navy “has had a continuous presence in the South Atlantic for many years.”

“The deployment of HMS Dauntless in the South Atlantic has been planned for a long time, is entirely routine and replaces another ship patrolling done,” the spokesperson said.

The HMS Dauntless is reportedly replacing a smaller warship, and to join an already stationed military presence in the South Atlantic region. The Type 45 Destroyer HMS Dauntless is one of the most advanced and powerful warships in the British Navy, equipped with advanced navigation systems costing £1bn.

The naval statement coincided with a speech by Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister of State Jeremy Browne in the House of Commons about the Argentine government. It was reported in Clarín that Browne said Argentina “could intensify pressure on the islands as the 30th anniversary of the war between the two countries closer.”

“The British government already has a legal obligation to uphold both the principle self-determination. So we do not see the need to do additional work in this area,” he also said.

These statements follow British Prime Minister David Cameron’s accusation of Argentina being “colonialist” in their attitude, and the Argentine government’s counter attacked that Britain is the one being “colonialist”.

On the other hand, British Ministry of Defence official Gerald Howarth put the situation into perspective by stating that Argentina has neither the capacity nor the intention to take back the islands.

An agreement made by Mercosur’s members to bar ‘illegal’ Falklands-flagged vessels from their ports has further stirred the dispute over the islands.

William Hague, British foreign secretary, has said in a statement to parliament that following ‘productive and honest discussions’ with Uruguay, Chile and Brazil, it has been agreed that there will be no Falklands vessel related blockade.

In turn, Chilean president, Sebastián Piñera, has assured Argentina that they have not changed their position regarding the blockade. Complying with commitments to Mercosur and the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), “Chile will continue to apply, according to International Law and the Chilean legislation, measures to prevent ships sailing under the flag of the Falkland Islands from entering national ports,” said a the statement from Chilean ministry of foreign affairs.

The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, has also expressed his support to Argentina, criticising Britain’s attempt of breaking the agreement made by South America.

Mercosur members adopted the resolution of refusing ships flying the Falklands flag last month.

In a holiday message to the residents of the Falkland Islands yesterday, British Prime Minister David Cameron essentially closed the door on negotiations with Argentina over the sovereignty of the islands.

Cameron’s remarks came after this week’s announcement by Mercosur saying that all ships flying the flag of the islands would be blocked from ports in Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.

The prime minister assured the residents that Britain’s position on the islands, called the Malvinas by Argentina, is unwavering.

In his statement he said, “Whatever challenges we face in the UK, the British Government’s commitment to the security and prosperity of the overseas territories, including the Falklands, remains undiminished.

“So let me be absolutely clear. We will always maintain our commitment to you on any question of sovereignty. Your right to self-determination is the cornerstone of our policy.

“We will never negotiate on the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands unless you, the Falkland Islanders, so wish. No democracy could ever do otherwise.”

Tensions had increased recently because of Britain’s decision to create a marine protection area around the Georgia Islands, another British territory claimed by Argentina 1,300 km from the Falklands.  Additionally, Prince William’s upcoming RAF pilot military training on the islands has further exacerbated the situation.

There are 3,000 residents living on the archipelago and 1,000 British soldiers stationed there.