Argentina's post-Brexit Falklands hopes up as Britain's May attends G20

Adding to her EU divorce dramas, Prime Minister Theresa May is heading to the G20 summit in Argentina, a country using Brexit to advance its claim on Britain's Falkland Islands.

The visit -- the first by a British premier to the Argentine capital since the 1982 Falklands War between the two countries -- is being seen in Buenos Aires as a chance to improve ties.

However, the 3,400 Falkland Islanders insist their British sovereignty remains non-negotiable and say a proper thaw in their relations with Argentina remains distant.

They have reason to be worried about Brexit: if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, the Falklands' economy -- heavily reliant on tariff-free squid exports to EU member Spain -- could face a hammer blow.

Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie made waves last month, saying Buenos Aires would exploit Brexit to enhance its diplomatic push for the Falklands.

Britain's sovereignty claim to the islands, known in the Spanish-speaking world as the Malvinas, dates back to 1765 and it has held permanent administration since 1833.

Buenos Aires claims the barren, windswept islands, 400 kilometres from the Argentine coast, are occupied Argentine territory.

Argentina's then-ruling military junta invaded on April 2, 1982 but surrendered on June 14 to a British task force after a brief but intense and bloody war.

Faurie told AFP in New York in November that Buenos Aires was discussing with London the possibility of "creating more connectivity to the islands".

"There is a lot of room still to grow in terms of confidence and trust between the two countries," he said.

"Our expectation is that the rebuilding of bilateral trust... will constitute a sort of substantive material to discuss all other issues about the sovereignty of the Malvinas."
"It needs to become a sustained state policy whereby future generations of Falkland Islanders no longer see Argentina as a threat but more as a neighbour that they might want to have a special relationship with."