Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions she has had with her Argentine counterpart on reports of a further military deployment in Tierra del Fuego, particularly on the security of the Falkland Islands.

UK Government ministers and officials are in regular contact with their Argentine opposite numbers. For example, the Minister for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean met with Foreign Minister Cafiero on 11 March. The United Kingdom has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands and surrounding maritime areas, and no doubt about the principle and the right of self-determination for the Falkland Islanders. The UK Government remains absolutely committed to the protection of the Falkland Islands and its population. Our forces in the Falkland Islands are defensive and the levels are kept under review: the UK undertakes regular assessments of possible threats to the Islands to ensure that an appropriate defence capability is maintained.