Argentina protests about ‘illegal’ British warship near Falkland Islands

Argentina lodged a complaint about a British warship near the Falkland Islands after its World Cup victory over England.

Argentina lodged a complaint about a British warship near the Falkland Islands after its World Cup victory over England. The foreign minister said HMS Medway was making an "unconsulted and illegal" journey through Argentine waters, accusing the Royal Navy of a "military incursion" into the country. Pablo Quirno said the vessel had entered Argentine waters earlier this month without notifying the country, prompting the diplomatic complaint.

Writing on X to express "the strongest rejection" of the action, he added that a "formal note of protest" had been lodged with the British embassy over the ship's movements. HMS Medway is a Batch 2 River-class offshore patrol vessel based in the Falkland Islands. It replaced HMS Forth in January as the Royal Navy's permanent guard ship in the waters, tasked with maritime patrols and fishery protection.

In the statement on X, Mr Quirno said: "In diplomacy, work is not shouted about like goals, but we are driven by the same conviction: the pride of being Argentine and the constant defence of our interests." He also accused Britain of "deepening tensions in the South Atlantic", and claimed the so-called "incursion" was the latest in a "long series" of similar acts. Tensions over the ownership of the Falkland Islands resurfaced in the build-up to the semi-final.

Mr Quirno on Sunday demanded Britain open talks on the sovereignty of the islands and claimed that Falklanders were "artificially implanted" on the islands, and that the 2013 referendum that confirmed British sovereignty was illegitimate. Argentina's players celebrated their World Cup win over England by unfurling a banner that read "The Malvinas are Argentine". 'Usurping pirates' Victoria Villarruel, Argentina's vice-president, also shared footage of soldiers invading the Falkland Islands and claimed the archipelago was Argentine after the semi-final.

Before the match, she described England as "usurping pirates". She wrote: "Tomorrow we play against the usurping pirates. This isn't just another match.

I'm not going to be politically correct or cold-hearted; against the English, it's always something more. "It's the Malvinas, it's Diego, it's Leo's last one, and it's putting the brakes on the invaders. Go Argentina!

Because until our last breath, we're going to claim what's ours!" England and Argentine fans also clashed after the match, with sporadic fighting breaking out near the stadium in Atlanta. Argentina and the United Kingdom went to war over the South Atlantic archipelago in 1982, in a conflict that left 649 Argentines and 255 Britons dead.

Before the semi-final, Javier Milei, the Argentine president, told local broadcaster Radio Mitre that the World Cup victory was just "a football match". "We are making enormous progress on the diplomatic front," he said. "We have managed to get the UN to force England to sit down and talk with us, but let's not confuse the score: This is a football match."

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has been contacted for comment.