The Falkland/Malvinas Islands should be given to Argentina.

I will be arguing that the Falkland Islands (or Malvinas) should be returned to Argentina. Argument #1: Geographical ReasonsWhile this argument may seem self explanatory, it is still a legitimate argument. The Falkland islands are roughly 300miles off the coast of Argentina, while they are almost 8000 miles away from the UK [1]. This raises the question of why does the UK fight so hard to keep an island that is an entire ocean away? Argument #2 Oil/Natural GasCurrently, the Falklands are view as the most valuable islands in the world due to the fact that they have enormous amounts of oil surrounding the island. According to a company named Premier Oil, the waters surrounding the Falklands contain as much as 400 million barrels of oil that can currently be retracted. Graph A displays how rich in oil the Falklands are (dark blue representing oil locations) [2]. Graph A:This enormous amount of oil obviously raises the point that the only reason that both countries want to have the Falklands is so that they can become rich of of the profits of the oil and natural gas. This is certainly a major factor into this debate over who should own the Falklands. It is easy to condemn Argentina, now that we know the true reason for their great campaign for the islands, however upon closer examination it becomes apparent that giving the islands to Argentina would not only be the right move, but it could become very beneficiary to many other countries as well. Currently, Argentina has about 2.8 million barrels of oil in their country, while the UK has about 0.8 million barrels. Despite the difference oil supplies both countries require about the same amount of oil to sustain their countries. Also, current production of oil is dropping in the UK, and there need for oil has steadily increased over the past few years. These statistics all imply that it would be better for the Falklands to remain a territory of the UK. However, if the Falklands remained in British control then all of the oil would be spent on sustaining the UK. On the contrary, if the Falklands are given to Argentina then a vast portion of the oil would be sold around the world. This hypothesis is evidenced by the fact that Argentina has shown that they have always been a facilitator of oil. in 2011, Argentina sold 66,000 bbl/d of crude oil [3]. This, in fact, is a 40% decrease from what Argentina sells on average. If the Falklands are given to Argentina, then there will be a large surplus of oil, hence an increase of oil will be sold around the world. Graphs B and C display the differences in oil production in the UK and Argentina, respectively. Graph B: Graph C: Argument #3: ColonialismThe final argument consists of a moral argument as opposed to a statistical argument. The UK has the the infamous reputation of being the largest colonial power back during the age of European dominance. Today, the UK has lost most of its colonies with the exception of a few islands in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, including the Falklands. This rises the debate of whether or not it is morally right for the UK to continue to hold some of these lands, given the violent history of some of its previous colonies. Even the British themselves thought that their seizure of the Falklands was not right as John Troutbeck, former head of the FCO's American Department stated that:"our seizure of the Falkland islands in 1833 was so arbitrary a procedure as judged by as the ideology of the present day. It is therefore not easy to explain our possession without showing ourselves up as international bandits" [4]. Conclusion:There are many good reasons as of why the Falklands should be returned to Argentina. Whether it be economic reasons or moral reasons, the facts show that the Falkland islands deserve to be returned to Argentina. Sources: [1] http://www.mapcrow.info...[2] http://www.economist.com...[3] http://www.eia.gov...[4] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk...