Although using RAF aircraft is probably the
easiest way to keep an eye on the Argentinians, it is not the only way*. Britain already has forces dedicated to
protecting assets in seaways, and they have a variety of ways to do this
(I'm not going very far on this, so no shouts of beadwindow please).
The above forces can make good use of our subs, and tend to be robust in their
attitude (probably no i-pods on board lol).
That said, I feel that Gordon Browne would not even consider using them, and
would just about let the Argies have or do anything they want.
If Margaret Thatcher's attitude was described as 'over my dead body' then Mr
Browne's may be more akin to 'chuck me a few quid and it's yours'.
*Luckily, as all the good stuff for this is being scrapped/sold as quick as possible
Edited to add: I typed this before seeing cosmiccomet's post, which seems to possibly be celebrating the sinking of civilian shipping.