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Donald Trump has suggested he is reconsidering US support for Britain’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, in a move likely to strain the “special relationship” between Washington and London.
“I always review every position – that’s just one of many,” the US president told reporters in the White House, in response to a question about whether he was reviewing the US’s position over the South Atlantic islands, an archipelago whose status has long been disputed by Argentina, which claims sovereignty.
Officially, the US takes a neutral position on who has rightful sovereignty over the islands, which Britain first claimed in the late 17th century and has held almost continually since 1833. In practice, it recognizes British administration over the territory, which was the subject of an Argentinian invasion and subsequent military conflict with Britain in 1982.
Trump’s comments were the clearest sign yet that the administration is prepared to use the dispute as leverage to pressure the government of the new British prime minister Andy Burnham to raise defence spending and contributions to Nato.
They came after an unnamed US official told the Telegraph last week that Washington could change its position over the islands if Britain failed to meet its defence spending commitments.
That followed reports that John Healey, the UK chancellor, was preparing to drop Britain’s prior commitment to devote 3% of its GDP to defence spending by 2030 when he delivers his first budget on 28 October.
Trump has made a priority of pressuring the US’s allies into boosting defence budgets and raising their Nato contributions during both his presidencies, accusing other countries of “freeloading”. At a summit in The Hague last year, allies committed to spending 5% of GDP on defence and security-related expenditures by 2035.
Speculation about a US switch of allegiance over the islands has been swirling for months.
In April, a leaked Pentagon email suggested reviewing Britain’s claim in response to its lack of support for Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran.
A switch of US position would represent a psychological blow to Britain’s sovereignty over the Falklands.
After Argentina invaded the islands in 1982, the decision by Margaret Thatcher’s government to dispatch a naval taskforce that eventually resulted in their recovery was bolstered by staunch diplomatic support from Ronald Reagan, who came down on Britain’s side, even though Washington was also an ally of the Argentinian ruling military junta.
Some 649 Argentinian and 255 British personnel died in fighting before Argentina’s forces surrendered in June 1982.
The episode played a central role in cementing the bond between Thatcher and Reagan, who were political allies and ideological kindred spirits.
In recent times, Trump has become close to Argentina’s populist president, Javier Milei, who attended his second inauguration in January last year.
Last year, Trump authorized a $20bn financial lifeline to Argentina to help it navigate a financial crisis, but made the funds contingent on Milei’s party winning subsequent congressional elections.
Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party duly won the election, confounding pollsters’ forecasts. Trump later authorized the imports of Argentinian beef in an effort to reduce US grocery prices.
Milei has vocally supported Argentina’s claim to the islands. In a 2013 poll, 1,513 out of 1,517 Falklands residents who cast a ballot said they wanted the territory remain a part of the UK.
Feelings over the islands surfaced after Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England in the semi-final of the World Cup in July, when celebrating Argentinian players unfurled a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” – the Falklands are Argentinian.
The Argentinian football association was subsequently fined $235,000 by Fifa for violating its rules on non-sporting demonstrations.
