Originally Posted by
Marcantilan
Hello all,
Well, I have two issues that I am wondering about.
The first is what people in Argentina think about the islanders. I am not going to say my opinion, but the general one. The general idea (which was made clear in a couple of presidential speeches), is that what Argentina is trying to achieve is sovereignty over the islands, but without interfering in the way of life of the islanders, nor in their properties, etc.
This, following the Argentine Constitution which states (since 1994): "The Argentine Nation ratifies its legitimate and imprescriptible sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the corresponding maritime and insular areas, as they are an integral part of the national territory. The recovery of those territories and the full exercise of sovereignty, respecting the way of life of their inhabitants, and in accordance with the principles of international law, constitute a permanent and inalienable objective of the Argentine people". I add that the Argentinean Constitution points to the peaceful claim over the islands.
It is also clear to me that the islanders do not want the Argentinians, nor do they want to be Argentinians. With the problems Argentina has, perhaps it is understandable (but then, they also miss out on being world football champions...). Anyway, I don't want to extend myself or try to convince anyone of anything. I just want to give a general opinion on the subject.
The second issue is related to military equipment and its use. As I said before, the National Defence Law and the Internal Security Law prevent the Armed Forces from being used in police tasks, except in extreme cases and only providing logistical support. The regulations governing both laws also state that the armed forces can only be used for defensive purposes and against aggression by nation states (i.e., what are known as "new threats" are outside the sphere of the armed forces).
However, Argentina has two federal forces, which, although they are security forces, have more firepower than the police (whether federal or provincial). These are the Gendarmerķa Nacional (which is deployed on the borders) and the Prefectura Naval (Guarda costa), which have, for example, FN MAG machine guns or .50 sniper rifles, etc. In the "hot" areas, for example the triple border (Paraguay-Argentina-Brazil), where it is believed that (mainly within Paraguay) narco groups or dormant terrorist cells operate, there is a large deployment of these forces. I would add that Argentina does not have, within its territory, drug cartels or active insurgency, problems that Mexico or Colombia have.
If an army patrol, for whatever reason, discovers traffickers or smugglers, it cannot arrest them or anything else, but only has to notify the federal forces. The same goes for aircraft: if a military plane intercepts a drug plane, it must limit itself to following it and reporting it.The only exception to the active presence of the armed forces on the northern border is on radar. For some years now, there have been several 3D radars (L-band, manufactured locally by INVAP) deployed in the north of the country. I think this is the only reasonable thing that has been done in the last 20 years in terms of defence, even the radars are excellent and some of them have been exported.
Anyway, I hope I have answered both issues.
Best!