Falklands 'Economic War' Amid Defence Dilemma

A rising security dilemma in the South Atlantic sees Argentine politics pitted against the British military as Falkland Islanders feel the effect economically.

Britain's defence of the Falkland Islands is significantly better now than it was at the time of the Falklands war.

The thinking is that even if the Argentinians tried to retake them they would not militarily be capable of the task.

However, if the Argentinians did manage to take the main airfield then there would be no way back for Britain.

All this may or may not be academic - Falkland Islanders feel the war that is currently being fought is economic.

They are under the squeeze - with Argentina seeking to leave them feeling isolated.

Some analysts believe Argentina's Cristina Fernandez Kirchner has 'set her heart' on winning back the islands she calls the Malvinas.

It may just be a question of national pride - to keep the issue simmering rather than boiling with any real intent to act.

Such determination has brought comparisons to Margaret Thatcher , who as British prime minister at the time of the Falklands War deployed with unwavering commitment a task force to the South Atlantic after the Argentinian invasion in 1982.

The fighting talk has led to Britain dusting off its plans in case of invasion - this alongside the deployment of the destroyer HMS Dauntless.

Mrs Fernandez Kirchner may just want to cement her legacy before she has to give up office at the end of her second four-year term as president, which she won in October.

Last month, in a provocative move, she persuaded countries including Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to ban Falkland vessels from their ports.

The snub was designed to show Latin American solidarity with Argentina's claim of sovereignty of the islands.

Born Cristina Fernandez in 1953 to middle-class La Plata parents of German and Spanish descent, she studied law and at university met and married another law student, Nestor Kirchner , who was three years her senior and also keen on leftist politics.

When the country's military rulers fell from power after losing the Falklands War, the couple took on politics with a vengeance.

In 2003, Mr Nestor was elected president and Cristina became a high-profile first lady.

Four years later, she was so popular that hubby Nestor declined to try for a second term as president - leaving her to run instead.

She won in a landslide although corruption scandals soon saw her approval ratings fall.

But she fought back with a popular child benefits scheme and, increasingly, fighting words over the Falklands.

Her popularity also soared on a wave of sympathy when her husband died of a heart attack in October, 2010.

After being re-elected for a second term she put the Falkland Islands at the top of her foreign policy agenda.

Whatever happens with her efforts to take the issue to the United Nations the image of a dogged, determined champion of national interests will do no harm to her domestic political cause.