President Javier Milei has recently sharpened his rhetoric on Argentina’s claim to the British-controlled Falkland Islands, at a time when his close relationship with United States President Donald Trump and the latter’s mounting tensions with the United Kingdom have drawn attention to the future of the contested territory.Trump and Milei have met several times. The Argentinian leader is a regular feature at conservative pro-Trump political gatherings in the US. Trump has previously described Milei — a far-right populist leader of the Liberty Advances party — as his “favourite president”.The Falkland Islands, known as Las Malvinas in Argentina, have long been a source of tension between London and Buenos Aires, though relations have largely been calm in recent days.But in recent days, reports have suggested that the Pentagon has proposed a review of the US historical neutrality over the Falklands dispute — as ties between Washington and London plummet over British criticism of Trump’s war on Iran.Could Milei’s relationship with Trump and the US president’s anger with Britain change that?What is the dispute over the Falkland Islands?The islands are a self-governing British overseas territory in the southwest Atlantic Ocean. An archipelago, its two major islands are East Falkland and West Falkland.The islands are almost 13,000km (8,000 miles) from the UK mainland and have a population of only about 3,200 people. Some one million penguins nest on the islands every summer.Argentina claims sovereignty over the islands, arg …
