China should respect UK's sovereignty over Falkland Islands; UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss lashes out at Beijing

London: – UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss lashed out at China. She said that objections over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands are unacceptable to the United Kingdom. The Falkland Islands are a part of the British Family and the United Kingdom will protect the rights of these islands. Therefore, China must respect the British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. A few hours ago, China had announced that it supports Argentinian rights over the Falkland Islands. Thus, the United Kingdom has reacted to the Chinese announcement.

Moreover, Winter Olympics are being held in China. But, India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada have boycotted the competitions. Whereas, leaders from Pakistan and Latin American countries have marked their presence at the Olympics. On this occasion, Chinese President Xi Jinping met the heads of state of these countries on Sunday, and accepted their demands.

Argentinian President Alberto Fernandez signed agreements for the Belt and Road Initiative with the Chinese President. President Fernandez said that Argentina was committed to the One China Policy and announced support for the Chinese rights over Taiwan. In return, the Chinese President announced support for the Argentinian sovereign rights over the Falkland Islands.

Furthermore, UK Foreign Minister Lis Truss criticised this. Foreign Minister Truss lambasted China saying, ‘No claim raising questions over the British sovereign rights over the Falkland Islands is acceptable to the United Kingdom. The Falkland Islands are a part of the British family and the United Kingdom is ready to protect the rights of these islands. China too should honour the British rights over the Falkland Islands.’

The Chinese mouthpiece has criticised the British Foreign Minister for this. A reporter from the China Daily asked, ‘Is it right for the United Kingdom to challenge the Chinese sovereignty by sending destroyers in the South China Sea?’ The Chinese mouthpiece warned that China has only announced support for the Argentinian rights and has not sent its destroyer to the region. The United Kingdom has adopted an open stand against China over the issues like the South China Sea, Hongkong, atrocities against the Uyghurs, Taiwan and maritime freedom in the Indo-Pacific region. China is trying to make use of Argentina to retaliate against it.