Britain to 'robustly' defend Falklands

New York:  London's UN ambassador warned Argentina on Friday that Britain would "robustly" defend the Falkland Islands if necessary, but added that his country remained open to bilateral talks with Buenos Aires on any issue except the islands' sovereignty.

British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant was speaking to reporters after Argentine Foreign Minister Hector Timerman met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the president of the UN Security Council to ask for help in stopping what he said was Britain's "militarisation of the South Atlantic".

"We are not looking to increase the war of words, but clearly if there is an attempt to take advantage of the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war by Argentina, then we will obviously defend our position and defend it robustly," Lyall Grant said.

Earlier, Argentina said it has information that Britain has sent a nuclear-armed submarine to the South Atlantic near the disputed Falkland Islands in the latest verbal salvo in a dispute over the territory.

Argentina's Foreign Minister Hector Timerman told reporters at the United Nations that a submarine called the Vanguard with nuclear weapons was recently sent as part of Britain's deployment in the Falklands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas. HMS Vanguard is one of four British submarines armed with nuclear missiles.

"Argentina has information that within the framework of the recent British deployment in the Malvinas Islands they sent a nuclear submarine ... to transport nuclear weapons to the South Atlantic," said Timerman.

Britain and Argentina fought a 10-week war over the Falkland Islands in 1982 after Argentina invaded the South Atlantic islands. London has refused to start talks on sovereignty with Buenos Aires unless the 3,000 islanders want them.

Tensions have risen before the 30th anniversary of the Falklands conflict this year. Oil exploration by British companies off the islands has raised the stakes.

Timerman repeated accusations that surfaced in the British press about a nuclear submarine being sent to the South Atlantic. He said that bringing atomic weapons into the region violated Latin America's treaty banning the presence, pursuit or use of nuclear weapons.

Protocols

Britain has signed two protocols to the 1967 treaty, according to which it vowed to support the maintenance of a nuclear-weapons-free zone across Latin America.

Lyall Grant denied militarising the region and said Britain had a "purely defensive military posture" for the islands. He neither confirmed nor denied reports a nuclear-armed British submarine is lurking around the Falklands.

"We do not comment on the disposition of nuclear weapons, submarines, et cetera," he said.

"But it is well known that ... as part of our overall defensive posture, there are submarines on patrol all around the world at any time. So it's not a question of anything new in what he [Timerman] is suggesting," Lyall Grant added.

Timerman said he welcomed Ban's offer to mediate in the dispute.