US threatening UK over Falklands – Telegraph

Washington sees the disputed islands as leverage to pressure London to spend more on the military, the paper has reported The US has threatened to reconsider its stance on Britain’s control of the Falkland Islands to push London to spend substantially more on its military, The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday, citing sources.

The reported attempt to pressure the UK comes amid mounting disagreements between the two long-time allies over defense, Iran, and the strategically vital Chagos Islands.

The UK and Argentina have been at odds over the Falklands for almost 200 years, with the matter coming to a head when Argentina’s military junta ordered an invasion of the islands in 1982.

Britain’s Margaret Thatcher dispatched a naval task force and retook them in 74 days of fighting.

Read more Remembering the Falklands conflict: How Argentina's 'little victorious war' instead became a huge success for Margaret Thatcher The US – which backed the UK during the conflict – recognizes Britain’s de facto administration of the islands but takes no position on the competing sovereignty claims.

Now, according to The Telegraph, the US may oppose Britain’s sovereignty claim unless it hikes defense spending.

In this vein, Britain is expected to receive “special attention” in a Pentagon review examining whether NATO members have credible paths toward the bloc’s new spending target.

Read more Trump eyeing purchase of key British colonial outpost – Telegraph A senior US official told the Telegraph that discussions on the matter were candid and that “nothing is being ruled out” as Washington searches for ways to push allies into shouldering more of Europe’s defense burden.

While Washington sees Britain’s new defense investment plan as a “step in the right direction,” it is not enough, the official told the paper.

“Given the scale of challenges facing us and our allies, we need allies like the United Kingdom to step up in major, fundamental ways.

Fortunately, some already are.

We strongly encourage the UK to do likewise,” he added.

Read more How has the US-Israeli war on Iran divided the West? Most NATO members have agreed to spend 5% of GDP on security by 2035, with the British officials pushing for the 3% threshold by 2030.

However, Britain’s new defense investment plan, unveiled in June, would leave core defense expenditure at just 2.7% of GDP through 2029-2030.