President Donald Trump said the US position on the Falkland Islands is “one of many” under review, pressing the UK to increase military spending and signaling that the sovereignty dispute could become a tool for pressuring Britain on defense funding.
His comments to reporters at the White House came after The Daily Telegraph reported that US defense officials were drawing up proposals to incentivize NATO allies to meet their spending pledges. A threat to oppose UK sovereignty over the Falklands was among the possible options. When the BBC asked Trump whether he was reviewing the US position on the Falklands, the president replied, “I always review every position. That’s just one of many.” He said the UK has “got some problems, but they’ll get solved” when asked about defense funding.
The UK government responded. A spokesperson said Falkland islanders “are British with a right to determine their own future” and that the commitment to them is unwavering. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the UK’s position as “crystal clear.”
The spending dispute
Burnham has said he will honor a commitment made by his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, to devote 3.5% of UK gross domestic product to core defense spending by 2035. Chancellor John Healey told The Times he would “set out a clear path” to meeting that NATO pledge at the next government spending review, expected in the spring of next year. Healey resigned as defense secretary in Starmer’s government following a row over military spending. His resignation letter in June expressed frustration that the government had no clear timetable to hit the 3% spending target, which he believed should happen by 2030.
The Guardian reported that Healey was preparing to drop Britain’s prior commitment to devote 3% of GDP to defense by 2030 when he delivers his first budget on 28 October. An unnamed US official told the Telegraph that Washington could change its position over the islands if Britain failed to meet its defense spending commitments.
Sovereignty and diplomacy
In April, a leaked Pentagon email reported by Reuters suggested the US was considering options to punish NATO allies it believed had failed to support its war in Iran, including the prospect of reviewing Britain’s claim to the Falklands. Trump has made pressuring allies into boosting defense budgets a priority across both presidencies, accusing other countries of “freeloading.” At a summit in The Hague last year, allies committed to spending 5% of GDP on defense and security-related expenditures by 2035.
The Falkland Islands sit in the south-west Atlantic Ocean. Britain first claimed the islands in the late 17th century and has held them almost continually since 1833. Argentina invaded in 1982. Britain dispatched a naval task force that eventually recovered the territory. The conflict lasted 74 days. It led to the deaths of 255 British military personnel, three islanders, and 649 Argentine soldiers.
Previous US administrations have formally recognized the UK’s de facto administration of the islands but have not taken a formal position on sovereignty. A switch in the US position would represent a psychological blow to Britain’s claim. Reagan backed Britain. After Argentina invaded in 1982, Margaret Thatcher’s government dispatched a naval task force bolstered by diplomatic support from Reagan, who came down on Britain’s side even though Washington was also allied with Argentina’s ruling military junta.
Trump has cultivated a close relationship with Argentina’s populist president, Javier Milei, who attended his second inauguration in January last year and has vocally supported Argentina’s claim to the islands. Last year, Trump authorized a $20bn financial lifeline to Argentina to help it through a financial crisis, making the funds contingent on Milei’s party winning subsequent congressional elections. Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party won the election. Trump later authorized the importation of Argentine beef in an effort to reduce US grocery prices.
In a 2013 referendum, 1,513 out of 1,517 Falklands residents who cast a ballot voted to remain part of the UK. Feelings over the islands surfaced again after Argentina’s 2-1 victory over England in the World Cup semi-final in July, when celebrating Argentine players unfurled a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas.” FIFA fined the Argentine football association $235,000 for violating its rules on non-sporting demonstrations.
A spokesperson for Burnham said the prime minister was clear on his first day in office that the UK would meet its international commitments to allies on defense spending, and that he has not wavered from that.