'Royal Navy are pirates':
'Royal Navy are pirates': Argentina's president accuses British government of behaving like imperial power after military tests in Atlantic
By Gerard Couzens
Last updated at 9:24 AM on 11th October 2010
The president of Argentina president has accused the Royal Navy of behaving like pirates after the Ministry of Defence carried out military tests on the Falkland Islands.
Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner used the social networking website Twitter to attack the British government over the recent missile tests in the disputed territory.
The president accused Britain of violating international law and branded the Navy an 'occupying colonial force'.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/...49_472x331.jpg Twitter attack: Argentina's president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner accused the Royal Navy of acting like pirates after military tests on the Falkland Islands
'Serious, very serious,' Mrs Kirchner posted on her Twitter feed at the weekend.
'Royal Navy, occupying colonial force in Falkland Islands, reports military exercise with missiles on the coast of East Falkland.
'Typical nineteenth century colonialism. Anachronistic use of force in violation of international law. They do not care. A clear example of double standards.'
She then signed off with the message: 'Conclusion... pirates for ever?'
Mrs Kirchner also announced she plant so summon Shan Morgan, the British ambassador in Argentina, to voice her concerns.
Her Twitter attack came just days after an Argentine warship confronted a Falklands trawler and accused it of fishing illegally.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/...44_237x438.jpg Mrs Kirchner has cultivated a close relationship with several heads of state and foreign politicians including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
The two boats became locked in a stand-off on Thursday - the first confrontation of its kind for four years.
The Argentinians demanded to know details of the Port Stanley vessel - the FV Venturerer - and radioed its crew.
The Venturerer - 3.5 miles inside Falklands waters - eventually moved away to avoid a larger clash.
Mrs Kirchner - who succeeded husband Ernesto as Argentine head of state - took to Twitter after British diplomats informed her of the missile tests on the Falklands.
A local British Embassy spokesman, quoted in Argentine daily La Nacion, later admitted: 'We are a little taken aback because these exercises are routine and are carried out every six months.
'They've been happening for 28 years. That's why we're so surprised.'
Mrs Kirchner has pledged an 'eternal fight' for the Falkland Islands, called Las Malvinas in the south American country.
But she has ruled out he use of weapons to win back the islands Argentina took briefly by force during its 1982 invasion which preceded a 74-day war with Britain.
Tension between the two countries have mounted in recent months after oil exploration started in the islands.
Tests have shown there could be 700 million barrels of crude worth around £3 billion in the region.
