Prince William’s Planned Deployment in Falkland Island Irks Argentines

The Argentine has condemned a decision by the British military to deploy Prince William to the Falkland Islands for a six-week mission early next year as a “provocative act.”

William, who is now also The Duke of Cambridge, was scheduled to train as a helicopter rescue pilot by the Royal Air Force (RAF). His deployment was actually publicized over the summer.

Nonetheless, Argentine government official Sebastian Brugo Marco told the Argentine newspaper La Nacion that Buenos Aires cannot ignore the political content of the Duke’s mission.

It is one more provocative act that shows Britain's military presence in a zone of peace where there is no armed conflict, he said.

One cannot ignore the political content of this military operation bearing in mind that the prince forms part of the [British] Royal Family.

Indeed, William’s tour next year will roughly coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Britain’s defeat of Argentina in the brief Falklands war. Argentina still claims over the islands, which it calls “Las Malvinas.” The war lasted 74 days and claimed the lives of 255 British and 649 Argentines.

Britain has ruled the Falklands for 180 years.

However, the RAF has emphasized that William’s deployment is routine, simply a part of his normal military training.

This deployment forms part of a normal squadron crew rotation and will form part of [Williams]’ training and career progression as a Search and Rescue pilot within the RAF, the Air Force stated.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has already labeled Britain arrogant for refusing to negotiate on the islands sovereignty.

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has rejected such negotiations unless, he says, the people of the Falklands want them.