Chile Forum

greg~judy wrote:OK... anyone perverse enough to start dabbling in the stock plays here.
......

A fact often dismissed by the British is that the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht signed by the UK and Spain (among other European powers), gave Spain continued control of her colonies in the Americas, including all adjacent islands. Simply put, the UK gave up any claims to the Malvinas/Falklands Islands to Spain by signed treaty. The islands then became part of Spain's Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata. When Argentina declared independence from Spain and became The United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata, it claimed all territories previously administered by the Viceroyalty. In 1825, the UK recognized the newly formed Republic, which included territorial recognition. In 1833 the UK takes over the Malvinas/Falklands not because it retained some form of claim at that time, but rather because it could. The UK was at the height of imperial expansion and it went around the world taking whatever it wanted. That simple. Argentina never gave up its claim to the islands. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Argentina and the UK became very close allies and it was expected by both nations that the islands would be returned to Argentina somewhere along the line. In fact, until the early 1970s, the UK proposed the return of the islands to Argentina to the islanders, who did not want to become part of Argentina. Who could blame them? Does anyone want to join a country often ruled by military dictators? But still, the UK was proposing this to the islanders. In 1976 the UK decided not to return the islands after becoming aware of vast deposits of oil on the Malvinas/Falklands basin. The UK claims that they are simply looking after the interest of the islanders. Well, this is coming from the same nation that expelled all inhabitants out of Diego Garcia and gave the islands the USA to build a military base. Bottom line, this is one of the many front lines in the battle over natural resources. If there was no oil and no strategic access to Antarctica, I truly believe that UK would have returned the islands by now. As for the islanders, I'm sure they would be welcomed in the UK.

FrankPintor wrote:Actually, at some level I expect the Argentineans did learn... and actually there wasn't a whole lot to learn considering how close they came to winning the islands last time around. Basically all they had to do was declare war (or make their move) 2-3 months later than they did, just before the South Atlantic winter made military action impossible. They couldn't because growing unrest in Argentina forced the dictatorship's hand, and because of that the extension to the airfield at Stanley couldn't be finished (it was being fabricated in Argentina)... which meant that when war broke out, the Argentinean air force found itself operating at the limit of its range, without being able to land and refuel on the islands... in winter in the South Atlantic, which should have been to the Argentineans' advantage (i.e. strike, capture, and have the weather shut everything down... there would have been no more military action for several months). I shared a beer with more than one English contractor who suddenly found himself at sea when Maggie ordered her navy to set sail, and they agreed (with graphic demonstrations of jets in flight over a table full of beers) that the courage and skill shown by the Argentinean pilots was amazing, not simply in launching missiles, but in evading them, and even with the incompetent leadership of Galtieri came close to making it count for Argentina.

Argentina knows that for 4-6 long months of the year the Malvinas can't be resupplied... so does the UK. I guess it's a question of when, and on which terms, not if...

OK... anyone perverse enough to start dabbling in the stock plays here.
Let's see some money, where mouths are...
Who will be the first to jump into the UK exploration market -
- to declare short/long positions on any/all of the players below????

...a British oil rig sent by Desire Petroleum Plc (UK:DES 107.50, +0.50, +0.47%) began drilling in disputed waters off the coast of the Falklands

Shares in Desire Petroleum have almost halved (51.00) after the oil explorer said a well being drilled off the Falkland Islands may not be economically viable.

OK... anyone perverse enough to start dabbling in the stock plays here.
Let's see some money, where mouths are...
Who will be the first to jump into the UK exploration market -
- to declare short/long positions on any/all of the players below????

British firm set to invoke fury of Argentina as it strikes black gold in the Falklands

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Rockhopper Exploration today announced that it has made an oil discovery in the North Falkland Basin - the first oil find of an exploration programme in the Falkland Islands that has already pushed relations between London and Buenos Aires to breaking point.

Shares in Rockhopper soared 138 per cent on the news. Shares in Desire Petroleum, another North Falklands-focused explorer, gained 85 per cent in the hope that it, too, will strike black gold.

... the oil find was very positive for Rockhopper and the share price reaction was not overdone, but cautioned that more information was needed on the quality of the oil reservoirs.

'If it does prove to be good quality reservoir, we're looking at maybe a discovery of a couple of hundred million barrels. It's very significant.'

Rockhopper said today that initial data collected from the Sea Lion prospect indicated that well 14/10-2 had found oil at intervals across 53 metres, which was 25 metres at its thickest point.

The company said it would carry out an additional assessment of the well before making a decision on whether to plug and abandon it or suspend it for future testing.

It added it would also consider whether to drill a further appraisal well on the prospect.

Chuck J 3.0 wrote:I think the Argie's have a lot better chance now. The political climate has changed quite a bit in England, I don't think the UK Govt. can count on patriotic chest-thumping crowds to support them in taking back the Falklands this time, if Argentina invades.