Putin and Xi eye up Falklands as huge supplies of ‘black gold’ found in UK territory
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have been eyeing up the Falkland Islands after huge supplies of so-called black gold were found near the UK overseas territory.
The race for the oil reserves is ramping up after Moscow discovered an estimated 511 billion barrels of oil and gas in the Antarctic.
Experts have warned the West must now allow Russia and China to monopolise supplies.
The issue was already raised at a Select Committee this week after Argentinian leader Javier Milei also pushes for Buenos Aires to take the Falkland Islands.
Overseas Minister David Rutley told the scrutinising committee that Moscow has “repeatedly given assurances” that it was only conducting science in the region.
However, Latin American security expert Dr Carlos Solar warned Russia’s advnaces pose an enormous threat.
Dr Solar told MailOnline: “If you look at Ukraine, Russia is clearly sending signals that it doesn’t care about international law, multilateralism, or treaties.
“If you extrapolate that into what might happen in Antarctica, I’m sure that it raises many doubts and many eyebrows in the US, in the UK and the rest of Europe, because they might change the rules of the game because they just don’t agree with it.
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“Russia being at war and being so decisive to confront the West is what sends a signal to what might happen in [Antarctica].
“They might use the same Ukraine strategy which was simply: ‘This is ours.’“
He added: “Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are discussing a new world order, led by anti-Western norms. That might lead to a new global governance.
“If they are going to start dictating multilateralism and treaties, then they might as well lead on this.”
Despite concerns about the size of the UK military more broadly, RAF Mount Pleasant is home to around 2,000 British troops, dozens of fighter planes and helicopters in case of an attack.
Argentina, which was defeated in the 1982 Falklands War, is also in the pocket of China after Beijing handed an $18billion loan to help pay off Buenos Aires’ $43billion IMF debt.
The debt was incurred after Argentina’s central current, the Peso, was devalued by 11 per cent against the US dollar in less than a week.
Tensions between Argentina and the UK continue over the Falklands War.
Milei recently admitted it could take decades for Buenos Aires to seize control of the Falklands and stressed Argentina does not “seek conflict”.
However, Milei said he wanted the islands, known as Malvinas, to become Argentine “within the framework of peace”.
“We are not going to relinquish our sovereignty, nor are we going to seek conflict with the United Kingdom,” he said.
Milei’s rhetoric is notably tamer than his left-wing predecessor Alberto Fernandez, who called the islands “stolen land” and the UK’s claim on them “disgusting”.
Argentina claims sovereignty of the Falklands by suggesting it was territory inherited following independence in 1816.
However, the British claim dates back to 1690 when they made the first recorded landing on the islands.
Despite Buenos Aires’ unwavering commitment to taking the Falklands, a referendum held in 2013 revealed more than 99 per cent of residents want to remain part of the UK.