TIMES ONLINE: Argentina was celebrating a diplomatic coup today after winning the backing of Latin American countries in an escalating dispute with Britain over oil drilling in the Falklands.
Thirty-two heads of state and government from Latin America and the Caribbean agreed at a summit in Mexico to support "the legitimate rights of the republic of Argentina in the sovereignty dispute with Great Britain".
That represented a victory for President Kirchner and her bid to halt what it says is "illegal" oil and gas exploration in the South Atlantic archipelago it claims as its own.
Almost three decades on from the short but bloody 1982 conflict which saw Britain repel an Argentine invasion of the islands, tensions between the two former adversaries are once again on the rise with the installation of a British oil rig, the Ocean Guardian, 100 miles from the Falklands coastline.
The rig, contracted to Britain's Desire Petroleum, yesterday began drilling beneath the seabed amid hopes of a black gold rush that could transform the economic prospects of the isolated, barren islands.
In Argentina, where Mrs Kirchner has made the recovery of the islands a key theme of her presidency, the drilling has revived long-simmering resentments at what is perceived as a foreign "occupation".
Last week, Mrs Kirchner moved to obstruct supplies to the oil operations, imposing shipping controls requiring all maritime traffic through Argentine-claimed waters to the Falklands to seek authorisation from Buenos Aires.
Amid an intensifying transatlantic war of words, Mrs Kirchner moved to dispel speculation over possible conflict, however, insisting after the meeting that Argentina would not blockade the islands but instead pursue "legal" options to halt the exploration.
Speaking after securing the declaration at the summit in Playa del Carmen, Ms Kirchner said that winning such strong backing in the territorial dispute was an important development. >>> Hannah Strange | Tuesday, February 23, 2010
