Trump Reviews US Backing for British Falklands
Trump Reviews US Backing for British Falklands
The News
President Donald Trump said Monday he is reviewing the US position on the Falkland Islands, the clearest sign yet that Washington is willing to use Britain's claim to the South Atlantic territory as leverage over UK defense spending.
Asked in the Oval Office whether he was reviewing the US stance on the islands' sovereignty, Trump told reporters: "I always review every position. That's just one of many."
It was his first public comment on the question, and it followed a report last week that the administration could withdraw US support for British rule of the islands if the UK does not raise its defense budget.
The US is officially neutral on who rightfully owns the islands, which Argentina claims. In practice Washington has recognized British administration of the territory, which Britain has held almost continuously since 1833.
Timeline
A leaked internal Pentagon email suggested reviewing Britain's claim to the Falklands in response to the UK's lack of support for Trump's decision to go to war with Iran, according to the Guardian and the Independent.
A senior US official told The Telegraph that Washington could change its position on the islands if Britain failed to meet its defense spending commitments. Pentagon officials were understood to be reviewing NATO allies' commitments to reach 5% of GDP on defense, with the UK singled out for "special attention," the Independent reported.
The weekend — The UK government restated its "long-standing and unwavering" commitment to keeping the islands a British Overseas Territory in line with islanders' wishes.
Trump made his "I always review every position" remark at the White House.
In an interview published by The Times, UK chancellor John Healey said he was "100 per cent" committed to a defense spending target of 3% of GDP and would set out the plan at the spring review.
Reactions
Healey told The Times he had not heard the suggestion that the US could side with Argentina, and said: "The Falkland Islands are British. The Falkland Islands will remain British as long as the Falkland Islands want that to happen."
A UK government spokesman said: "The UK is playing a central role in Nato and strengthening collective defence across Europe. We are Nato's third largest cash spender on defence and the only European NATO member to commit our nuclear deterrent to the alliance."
The Guardian reported that Healey had been preparing to drop Britain's prior commitment to spend 3% of GDP on defense by 2030 when he delivers his first budget on October 28 — the backdrop to the American pressure campaign.
What's Next
Healey's first budget is set for October 28, with the defense spending plan promised at the spring review. Britain's new prime minister, Andy Burnham, faces the choice of matching Trump's demands or testing whether the threat to the Falklands position is real.
The White House has not announced any formal change in US policy on the islands' sovereignty. Trump said only that the position is under review, like others.
More
Argentina invaded the islands in 1982. Margaret Thatcher's government sent a naval task force that retook them, backed by diplomatic support from Ronald Reagan even though Washington was also an ally of Argentina's ruling military junta. Some 649 Argentinian and 255 British personnel died before Argentina surrendered in June 1982.
Trump is close to Argentina's president, Javier Milei, who attended his second inauguration in January of last year and who vocally backs Argentina's claim to the islands. Trump authorized a $20 billion financial lifeline for Argentina last year, contingent on Milei's party winning congressional elections, and later authorized imports of Argentinian beef to help lower US grocery prices.
In a 2013 referendum, 1,513 of the 1,517 Falklands residents who voted said they wanted the territory to remain part of the UK.
At a summit in The Hague last year, NATO allies committed to spending 5% of GDP on defense and security-related costs by 2035.
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