As hundreds of athletes from around the world compete for glory and prestige in Beijing, world leaders also gather in the Chinese capital, including Chinese President Xi Jinping and Argentinian President Alberto Fernández. On Sunday the two politicians released a joint statement agreeing to support each other’s contentious territorial claims and deepen the economic ties between their nations. President Xi Jinping declared that China “reaffirms its support for Argentina’s demand for the full exercise of sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands,” the Argentinian name for the Falkland Islands, while President Fernández reciprocated that Argentina “reaffirms its adherence to the one-China principle,” meaning he backs China’s claim that Taiwan is not a sovereign country but rightfully a part of China.
The declaration has sent an icy wave across the waterways of the Taiwan Strait and the Argentine Sea that separate these allied states from their claimed lands, and old tensions are flaring anew. The United Kingdom, the current owners of the islands, rejected Argentina’s claims and condemned China’s declaration, with U.K. Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tweeting that the U.K., “completely reject[s] any questions over sovereignty of the Falklands,” which are are “part of the British family and we will defend their right to self-determination,” and calling on China to “respect the Falklands’ sovereignty.” As lines are drawn, diplomatic rows are emerging across the world as sides are taken, with Brazil having to defend its allowance of British planes to the Falklands despite recognizing Argentina’s claim.
This exchange of support, while not a change in policy from either nation, is an unmistakable diplomatic maneuver meant to display strength to a global audience. China’s claim to Taiwan and Argentina’s claim to the Falklands are key geopolitical objectives of their respective claimant, with gaining undisputed control of these islands being key goals that have dominated Chinese and Argentinian policy in the last 40 years. This public declaration of the two nations’ intentions may belie reinvigorated efforts by each nation to see their territory expanded, despite vociferous opposition from the U.K. and United States.
For many across the world and especially in the U.K., the question of the Falkland Islands has already been conclusively settled. The islands have been held in contention since Argentina gained its independence in the Argentine War for Independence (1810-1818), inheriting a dispute from Spain over the islands. Spanish and British settlers had exchanged control of the islands until 1833, when two British ships firmly established British rule. After centuries of disagreement, Argentina and the U.K. fought a two-month war over the islands in 1982 where the British decisively repulsed an Argentinian invasion. Additionally, the people of the Falklands have consistently and overwhelmingly voiced their support for remaining with the U.K., with a 2013 referendum returning a grand total of 3 votes in favor of severing ties with the U.K., while 1513 of 1650 registered voters voted to remain with the U.K.
Tensions between the People’s Republic of China and the U.K. have been taut for the last decade, as the U.K. continues to tacitly support Taiwanese independence while sharply criticizing China’s repressive clampdown on Hong Kong, a former British possession, and the ongoing Uyghur Genocide. But as previously stated, the support the two leaders have reaffirmed isn’t new, and it remains unlikely China will send its full military support behind a renewed Argentinian invasion of the Falklands any time soon.
Instead, perhaps the most transformative aspect of this new deal is Argentina and China’s economic integration. China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a project begun in 2013 meant to create what some analysts have termed a “new Silk Road,” that funds infrastructure projects across the developing world. But the BRI has shown signs of faltering as BRI projects are quietly cancelled or delayed due to high costs and cascading debt, while China’s own expenditures on the project reach levels some in the nation are increasingly wary of. This new deal may be an attempt to reinvigorate the project, as the world’s attention is on China for the Olympics, this massive investment of $23.7 billion, according to the Argentinian government, could renew confidence in the BRI on the world stage.
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