The Argentine government rejected the British decision to designate South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands as "specially protected areas".

The note of protest was addressed to the United Kingdom, according to the Argentine Foreign Ministry on Tuesday afternoon.

The measure had been announced by the UK government on June 24, 2021 and the Argentine government made a strong protest.

This time, Argentina reiterated its "categorical rejection of each and every one of the terms of the aforementioned announcement, as well as any pretension of the United Kingdom to adopt or apply rules in relation to Argentine territories and maritime spaces, which includes the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime spaces".

According to the official communiqué, "the Argentine Republic reminded the British Government that the intended extension of the Convention on Biological Diversity made by the UK regarding the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands has been duly rejected by our country, since those territories are an integral part of the Argentine Republic".

In this regard, "this claim constitutes a unilateral and illegitimate action by the United Kingdom in accordance with Resolution 31/49 of the United Nations General Assembly, which urges Argentina and the UK to refrain from adopting decisions that involve the introduction of unilateral modifications in the situation, while the Islands are subject to the process recommended by that body".

The communiqué emphasized that the "Argentine Government once again reaffirmed its sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas that form an integral part of the national territory of Argentina, which, being illegitimately occupied by the UK, are the subject of a sovereignty dispute recognized by the United Nations".

On the Malvinas issue, the U.S. Ambassador in Buenos Aires, Marc Stanley, called for negotiations between Argentina and the United Kingdom on the sovereignty of the Islands.

In a meeting with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Washington representative affirmed that he "would love to see the situation resolved".

Mr Stanley clarified that he was speaking in a personal capacity, that the dispute over the Islands "is a very delicate problem" and that he was "learning more about the issue".