David Cameron Vows 'No Negotiation' On Falkland Islands Dispute With Argentina

British Prime Minister David Cameron had strong words for Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on Thursday.

When it comes to the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, there will be absolutely no negotiation. This is not some game of global monopoly with nations passing a territory between them. It's about the islanders determining their own future, he said.

The Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory, and most inhabitants are of British descent. But the archipelago has been claimed by Argentina for more than a century. British officials deny Argentina's allegations that UK ownership of the islands constitutes an occupation, pointing out that the Falklands are essentially self-governing.

Cameron's comments followed Fernandez's decision to attend a United Nations committee hearing in New York on Thursday, where she will assert her government's claim to the archipelago that lies about 400 miles east of the Argentine coast.

The president has called British ownership of the Falklands an anachronistic colonial case, according to The Guardian.

This rhetorical brinkmanship comes on the 30th anniversary of Argentina's invasion of the Falklands, which ended in their defeat in the Falklands War of 1982.