国际英语新闻:Argentina slams Britain's "military threats" over disputed islands

BUENOS AIRES, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's Foreign Ministry on Sunday condemned what it called "the military threats of British Prime Minister David Cameron in relation to Great Britain's illegal occupation of the Malvinas Islands for the past 180 years."

The ministry was reacting to statements Cameron made on British TV channel BBC1 on Thursday, in which he said he was willing "to fight" to hold on to the islands just off Argentina's South Atlantic coast, known to the British as the Falklands.

"The aggressiveness of the British prime minister's words affirm Argentina's denouncement at the United Nations regarding the militarization of the South Atlantic and the possible presence of nuclear arms introduced by the colonial power," the ministry said in a statement.

The Argentine government urges the British "not to use the legitimate and peaceful claims we make against the usurpation of part of our territory and against colonialism as an excuse to continue sustaining the weapons industry, instead of alleviating the severe social crisis affecting Europe," the ministry said.

"People need more work and less war," it added, while reiterating "Britain's obligation to accept the United Nations resolutions to resolve the Malvinas affair in a peaceful manner."

In that TV interview, Cameron said Britain's "determination (to retain power over the islands) is extremely strong" and stressed Britain has one of the "five largest defense budgets in the world."

The dispute over the islands led Argentina and Britain to a 74-day war in 1982. Despite its military defeat, Buenos Aires has not given up its claim to the islands.