Argentina accuses Britain of ‘whipping up’ war

Argentina accused Britain of “whipping up the specter of war” on Thursday after Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted that Britain has sufficient protection in place on the Falkland Islands amid escalating tensions over oil and gas exploration.

A drilling rig contracted by British firms is expected to arrive in the South Atlantic on Friday to start work next week. The waters around the disputed islands, over which Argentina and Britain fought a war in 1982, could contain billions of barrels of oil.

“We have made all the preparations necessary to make sure the Falkland Islanders are properly protected,” Brown said, responding to calls by the opposition Conservative Party to bolster British forces in the region. Excitement about a potential “black gold” rush has stirred nationalist passions.

Jorge Argüello, Argentina’s ambassador to the United Nations, said Brown’s remarks were “imprudent at the very least.”

Unlike in 1982, the 3,000 Falkland Islanders are now heavily defended by the British. Argentina, meanwhile, is being careful to emphasize the peaceful nature of its protests against what it terms “illegal” exploration activity, allegedly in defiance of U.N. resolutions calling for the sovereignty dispute to be settled.

However, it has escalated its actions in recent days, halting the loading of a ship delivering drilling equipment and ordering any ships traveling between Argentina and the islands to seek special authorization.

President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner said that Argentina will never give up its claim to what it calls the Malvinas.