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Explanation
The islands are claimed as sovereign territory by both Argentina
and Britain.
There was a war in 1982 after Argentine forces, during a period
of military dictatorship, occupied the islands without warning.
They were forced to surrender by a British force, assisted by
United States satellite intelligence and supplies of munitions.
At present there is a British garrison. Argentina has at present
a civilian regime but its economic policies are still not very
successful. A future military regime may attempt to renew hostilities
after equipping its forces with modern weapons.
Although Britain's forces are much smaller than at the time
of the last war the existence of a modern airfield able to accept
long range aircraft means the Islands can be reinforced quickly.
Argentina still (2002) has serious economic problems.
Argentina has filed a claim (2009) for the economic sovereignty
of all the sea in the area of the South Atlantic to the Antarctic
coast, including the Falklands water.
In February 2010 exploratory drilling for oil in the water
about 100 km from the Falklands has provoked protests from Argentina
that the waters belong to Argentina's economic zone.
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