THE TELEGRAPH: Royal Navy warships were on standby on Thursday to protect commercial shipping to the Falkland Islands as Gordon Brown said Britain would take a robust stand against Argentine encroachment on the resource rich South Atlantic territory.
HMS York, a type 42-destroyer, was on a "tight leash" patrolling the seas around the islands in response to rising tensions over British firms oil explorations activities near the Falklands. Argentina has demanded a halt to "illegal" oil drilling around the Falkands and on Wednesday imposed a permit system on ships passed from its ports to the island.
Gordon Brown, the prime minister, issued an explicit warning to the Argentinian government that the South Atlantic show of force – which also included a survey vessel backed up by a 1,000-strong military detachment on land – would respond to any disruption of the Falklands links to the outside world.
"We maintain the security of the Falklands and there are routine patrols continuing," Mr Brown said. "I think you will find that we have made all the preparations that are necessary to make sure the Falkland Islanders are properly protected." >>> Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | Thursday, February 18, 2010
