“The task of our force is to control that ‘buffer zone’ to avoid accidents. This shows that we believe in international law and peaceful negotiation, so that the British sit down to talk once and for all about ( the sovereignty of the Malvinas Islands”, said the minister during the ceremony.
“We must not forget that we have part of our territory occupied. We have a sovereignty dispute pending resolution because one of the parties refuses to sit down and talk, in a show of disrespect for international law and the peaceful solution of serious disputes. “, the head of Defense told Télam.
Taiana led the farewell ceremony at the El Palomar Air Force Air Brigade, where she assured that “in a world where war is a reality, the powerful should not use force to impose their interests and modify the world order.”
The farewell ceremony for the local Blue Helmets, belonging to the three Armed Forces, was held on the runway of the El Palomar airport. The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Juan Martín Paleo; the operational commander, Brigadier General Jorge Berredo; the head of the Air Force, Brigadier Xavier Isaac; the head of the Army, Lieutenant General Guillermo Parada, and the head of the Navy, Admiral Julio Guardia.
“You have a specific task as Blue Helmets, and at the same time you have the task of representing our homeland to confirm that we are a sovereign State that is not going to submit to the designs of the powerful,” the minister told the military personnel of the retinue. The Blue Helmets are members of the Armed Forces of their respective countries and work with the UN police and their civilian collaborators to “promote stability, security and peace processes.”
The members of the three forces left at 10:30 am for the European island in a Boeing 737 plane of the Air Force called “Islas Malvinas”, registration T-99.
Taiana explained in statements to Télam that doubling the number of Blue Helmets is important in the Argentine claim for sovereignty in the Malvinas Islands. For Taiana, this is a way to “show the capacity of our Armed Forces and the task force that is going there.”
The minister referred to Argentina’s “defensive” strategy and assured that due to the size and natural resources “we must have an adequate defense capacity.” “Peace is guaranteed abroad with Armed Forces that have a deterrence capacity.
This deterrence capacity deserves to have a defensive strategy and for that it is necessary to have an important reaction and deterrence capacity,” said the minister. “Argentina is a country that has Armed Forces and that should have Armed Forces,” he emphasized.
Taiana also stressed the importance of the National Defense Fund (Fondef) promoted by the national government for the re-equipment of Argentine troops. On the other hand, he referred to the presence of Brazilian President Lula Da Silva at the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) to be held in Buenos Aires on January 24.
“Lula’s presence is always welcome. He has spoken about the possibility of rehabilitation of Unasur (Union of South American Nations), so regional integration is the order of the day,” Taiana celebrated.
