The Falklands are a British Overseas Territory (Image: Getty)
The UK’s decision to to Mauritius raises serious questions as to the future of other disputed overseas British territories – most notably, the .
It was announced today that had agreed to hand over control of the Chagos, an archipelago of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, in exchange for securing the future use of a strategically important UK-US military base at Diego Garcia.
Tensions over the sovereignty of the have risen recently, with Argentina’s President this year suggesting that
The control of the islands remained an emotive topic for Brits for decades after the 1982 war to reclaim the territory cost 255 British soldiers their lives.
However, data from a YouGov poll suggests that a staggering 46 percent of people surveyed said that they would not be bothered if the UK relinquished control of the archipelago.
The government’s decision to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has caused some to question if the Falklands might be next – but do the public care about keeping the Falklands British?If the Falklands went to Argentina, % who would be…Unbothered: 46%Upset:…
— YouGov (@YouGov)
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Shortly after news about Chagos emerged, the pollster shared data it gathered last year from a wide-ranging survey including among other topics the sovereignty of the Falklands.
Out of the 2034 GB adults interviewed by YouGov between April and May last year, 35 percent of respondents said they would be upset by any decision to hand the archipelago to Argentina.
Shockingly, 9 percent of those asked how they would feel if the Falklands were to be given to Argentina, claimed that not only would they not be bothered, they would in fact be “pleased.”
The poll also asked a secondary question of whether the islands should be a British Overseas Territory or Argentinian, with only 16 percent in favour of sovereignty being relinquished compared to 52 percent who believed they should stay British.
In another question, 81 percent of respondents said that the islands should either stay British or be left to the inhabitants to decide.
255 British and three Falkland Islanders lost their lives during the 74 day conflict (Image: Getty)
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A 2013 referendum on the sovereignty of the islands carried out on the Falklands saw 1,513 of 1,517 voters state that they wished to remain part of the UK.
For all the Argentinian rhetoric surrounding roadmaps to reclaim the territory, the country has little military leverage to do so.
, with the military receiving less than 1 percent of GDP for each of the last 20 years.
Conversely, , making it unlikely that the Argentines would be able to pose any credible threat to taking possession by force.