https://www.scmp.com/rss/519223/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Argentina formally requested to join Nato as a global partner, a status that would clear the way for greater political and security cooperation at a time when the right-wing government of President Javier Milei aims to boost ties with Western powers and attract investment. The request came on Thursday as Nato’s Deputy General Secretary Mircea Geoana held talks in Brussels on regional security challenges with visiting Argentine Defence Minister Luis Petri. Geoana said he welcomed Argentina’s bid... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3259581/argentina-asks-join-nato-president-milei-seeks-more-prominent-role-his-nation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3259581/argentina-asks-join-nato-president-milei-seeks-more-prominent-role-his-nation?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 19 Apr 2024 04:30:11 +0000 UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron visited the Falkland Islands on Monday, prompting claims of “provocation” from an Argentine regional official on the first such trip in three decades to the far-flung UK territory claimed by the South American nation. Cameron said he was visiting the South Atlantic archipelago at the centre of a 1982 war between the two nations to make clear the territory was “a valued part of the British family”. Britain’s Press Association reported Cameron as saying Britain... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3252498/britains-foreign-secretary-says-he-hopes-falkland-islands-will-wish-stay-uk-family-forever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3252498/britains-foreign-secretary-says-he-hopes-falkland-islands-will-wish-stay-uk-family-forever?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Feb 2024 23:42:19 +0000 British Foreign Secretary David Cameron will visit the Falkland Islands in a high-profile demonstration they are a “valued part of the British family” amid renewed Argentinian calls for talks on the future of the islands they call Islas Malvinas. Cameron’s visit will be the first by a British Cabinet minister since 2016 and he stressed that the issue of the archipelago’s sovereignty is “not … up for discussion” while the islanders wish to be British. Argentina’s President Javier Milei, who met... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3252344/uks-david-cameron-visit-falklands-says-islands-sovereignty-not-discussion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3252344/uks-david-cameron-visit-falklands-says-islands-sovereignty-not-discussion?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Feb 2024 11:48:55 +0000 Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei praised free markets and slammed socialism at Davos during the first overseas tour for the self-proclaimed “anarcho-capitalist”, who is battling to fix a major economic crisis at home. The trip marks a test for right-wing Milei, a relative political newcomer who took office last month after a rapid ascent from acid-tongued economist and television pundit to the presidency. He is keen to win backing for his economic ideas, which include shutting the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3248835/argentinas-javier-milei-praises-free-markets-slams-socialism-davos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3248835/argentinas-javier-milei-praises-free-markets-slams-socialism-davos?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Jan 2024 18:56:30 +0000 In the early morning of March 8, 2021, a small inflatable boat powered by an outboard motor covertly made its way into Uruguay’s biggest port to unload a dying deckhand, and then sped away. The man, a slight 20-year-old Indonesian named Daniel Aritonang, had been at sea for a year and a half, working on a Chinese squid-fishing ship called the Zhen Fa 7. Now he was dumped dockside, barely conscious, with two black eyes, bruises along the sides of his torso, bloated hands and feet, and rope marks... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3242606/dark-side-chinas-rise-seafood-superpower-human-rights-abuses-and-death-high-seas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3242606/dark-side-chinas-rise-seafood-superpower-human-rights-abuses-and-death-high-seas?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Nov 2023 10:15:08 +0000 Japan, the United States and their allies must demonstrate their “resolve to fight” as a means to deter attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait by force, former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso said in Taipei on Tuesday. He also said Tokyo needed to double its defence budget to 2 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product to enhance its deterrence power and join its allies in discouraging acts of aggression. Aso, the No 2 leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3230405/japans-former-leader-says-tokyo-and-allies-must-show-resolve-fight-stop-attack-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3230405/japans-former-leader-says-tokyo-and-allies-must-show-resolve-fight-stop-attack-taiwan?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Aug 2023 12:00:10 +0000 Flying from Florida to Buenos Aires usually takes about 10 hours, but the turboprop landing in Argentina on Saturday was no normal plane. It had been en route for 20 days, and many Argentines eagerly refreshed flighttracking software to keep tabs on its progress. The Short SC.7 Skyvan carried neither crucial cargo nor VIP passengers. Rather, the plane will be another means for Argentines to reckon with the brutal history of their country’s 1976-1983 military dictatorship. The plane, which was... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3225287/argentine-dictatorships-death-flight-plane-returned-home-historical-reckoning?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3225287/argentine-dictatorships-death-flight-plane-returned-home-historical-reckoning?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Jun 2023 01:55:37 +0000 A Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, Geng Shuang, has backed Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands and called on countries to abandon “colonial thinking”, warning of its serious implications for the international order. Geng, China’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, made the comments on Tuesday to a special committee on decolonisation, which adopted a resolution calling on Britain and Argentina to resume negotiations over the islands, also known as the Malvinas. “The issue... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3224866/china-backs-argentinas-falklands-claim-calls-end-colonial-thinking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3224866/china-backs-argentinas-falklands-claim-calls-end-colonial-thinking?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Jun 2023 08:01:49 +0000 The symbolism and timing could not be more striking. After Beijing brokered a deal to help Iran and Saudi Arabia resume diplomatic relations, Washington hosted the leaders of Britain and Australia at the Point Loma Naval Base in San Diego to cement Aukus, a military accord between the three Anglo-American countries to deploy offensive capabilities across the Asia-Pacific. Australia is especially tasked to pay for the development of British-American-built nuclear-powered submarines to target... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3213654/diplomacy-beijing-war-pact-san-diego-whos-belligerent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3213654/diplomacy-beijing-war-pact-san-diego-whos-belligerent?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 Mar 2023 13:14:50 +0000 Britain has reasserted its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands after Argentina pulled out of a cooperation agreement and demanded new talks over the South Atlantic territory that sparked a 1982 war between the two countries. The pronouncement came after Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said on Twitter that he informed British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly about his country’s decision when the pair met on the margins of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in India last week. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3212451/uk-reasserts-falkland-islands-are-british-argentina-seeks-new-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3212451/uk-reasserts-falkland-islands-are-british-argentina-seeks-new-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Mar 2023 17:07:08 +0000 The UK government insisted the Falkland Islands remained British as Argentina walked away from a cooperation pact and demanded new talks over their sovereignty. Known as the Malvinas in Spanish, the UK-ruled islands were the subject of a short but brutal war after Argentina invaded in 1982. Britain drove out the invading force after dispatching a naval armada. In 2016, the two sides agreed to disagree about sovereignty, but to cooperate on issues such as energy, shipping and fishing, and on... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3212196/argentina-withdraws-falklands-pact-uk-demands-new-talks-over-sovereignty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/americas/article/3212196/argentina-withdraws-falklands-pact-uk-demands-new-talks-over-sovereignty?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Mar 2023 04:32:03 +0000 Two people are running to be Britain’s next prime minister, but a third presence looms over the contest: Margaret Thatcher. The late former prime minister dominated Britain in the 1980s, and has left a large and contested legacy. Critics see her as an intransigent ideologue whose free-market policies frayed social bonds and gutted the country’s industrial communities. But for the governing Conservative Party, Thatcher is an icon, an inspiration and the presiding spirit who made Britain fit for... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3187273/truss-vs-sunak-divisive-margaret-thatcher-looms-over-uk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/europe/article/3187273/truss-vs-sunak-divisive-margaret-thatcher-looms-over-uk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 01 Aug 2022 05:09:25 +0000 In June, China hosted the BRICS summit, which brought together the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, just a few days before the G7 meeting. This iteration of the BRICS summit was noteworthy in multiple ways. First, it was held against the backdrop of the Ukraine conflict. Second, Russia recently defaulted on its sovereign debt commitments. Third, India is beginning to feel the pinch of striking a balance in an increasingly bipolar world order. China had invited several... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3184296/china-and-russia-champion-expanded-brics-india-may-have-pick-side?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3184296/china-and-russia-champion-expanded-brics-india-may-have-pick-side?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Jul 2022 19:30:16 +0000 Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday rejected British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s charge that if he were a woman he would not have invaded Ukraine. Speaking at a news conference in the early hours of Thursday during a visit to Turkmenistan, Putin pointed to former British leader Margaret Thatcher’s decision to send troops into the Falklands as a rebuttal of Johnson’s theory. Johnson on Wednesday dubbed Putin’s decision to launch what Moscow calls a “special military operation” against... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3183679/putin-hits-back-johnsons-woman-remarks-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3183679/putin-hits-back-johnsons-woman-remarks-points?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Jun 2022 09:22:51 +0000 “About 400 Hongkong seamen employed by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary are on their way to the Falkland Islands to carry out logistics duties for the Navy,” reported the South China Morning Post on April 28, 1982. A spokesman for the Joint Services Public Relations Service said that “although the RFA ships are manned by civilians, crew members are ‘obliged under contracts to operate in war zones’”. He said none of the 400 were dispatched from Hongkong. Most were on the high seas or sent from Britain.... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3182449/when-hong-kong-seamen-returned-falklands-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3182449/when-hong-kong-seamen-returned-falklands-war?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jun 2022 03:15:15 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. Forty years ago, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands and the British government swiftly assembled a naval task force to convey and protect the troops, equipment and fuel required to retake... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3173404/hongkongers-who-served-falklands-war-will-not-be-forgotten?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3173404/hongkongers-who-served-falklands-war-will-not-be-forgotten?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Apr 2022 03:30:18 +0000 Do royals celebrate Valentine’s Day? They may be public figures, but most of them keep the juiciest details about their relationships under wraps, and that has included how they mark February 14th. Thanks to the rise of social media, however, these blue bloods have given us a glimpse of how they spend this special day. To no one’s surprise, their take on this love-filled occasion is straight out of a fairy tale. 1. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Active royals or not, the Duke and Duchess of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3166707/how-do-royals-celebrate-valentines-day-prince-harry-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3166707/how-do-royals-celebrate-valentines-day-prince-harry-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Feb 2022 22:00:16 +0000 Chinese President Xi Jinping congratulated Queen Elizabeth on her Platinum Jubilee on Sunday, while also calling for closer bilateral ties in the face of global challenges. In his message, Xi said the queen had long cared about and supported friendship between the two countries and was as a witness and promoter of development of bilateral ties. Queen Elizabeth is the longest-serving British monarch and on Sunday Britain celebrated the 70th anniversary of her rule. In his message Xi called for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3166145/china-britain-relations-xi-lauds-queen-elizabeth-platinum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3166145/china-britain-relations-xi-lauds-queen-elizabeth-platinum?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Feb 2022 13:00:24 +0000