How should we deal with a former colonial empire that has already set over the western mountains and has traveled thousands of miles from Europe to the South China Sea to demonstrate against China? Of course it was a counterattack! Now China has just issued a statement, which has made this old imperialist country panic. Because this paper statement is hitting the other side's soft underbelly.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Argentina. At the invitation of the Chinese side, Argentine President Fernandez attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics on February 4 and visited China. On the 6th, the two countries issued a "Joint Statement on Deepening the China-Arab Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.". It is particularly noteworthy that in the statement, China reiterated its support for the Arab side's demand for full exercise of sovereignty over the "Malvinas" islands (the "Falkland" islands referred to by the United Kingdom) and for the resumption of negotiations as soon as possible with a view to resolving the dispute peacefully in accordance with relevant UN resolutions.
(Malvinas Islands, known in the United Kingdom as the Falkland Islands)
Located at 52° south latitude, about 500 kilometers from Argentina, the Malvinas Islands have been occupied and colonized by France, Britain, Spain and other countries in history, and the British monopolized the islands in 1833, but Argentina has not given up its claim to the Falklands. In 1982, the British and Argentine countries had a war over the sovereignty of the Falklands, and after the defeat of Argentina, the Falklands were fully occupied by the British. However, in 2016, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf ruled that the Falklands belonged to Argentina, but the British side refused to return the islands, and the British and Argentine sides have been disputed so far.
(Even today, many countries still use the British "rice flag" as part of their flag.)
As a former colonial power, because the United Kingdom has the most colonies it has occupied, it once thought of itself as the "Empire where the sun never sets", which means that Britain's colonies are all over the world, so the British flag is under the sun at every moment, so it is called "the sun does not set". However, that was more than 100 years ago, with the outbreak and end of the two world wars, Britain's national strength declined, its painstaking colonial system collapsed, and Britain eventually retreated to the so-called "British Isles". But the colonial ideology in the bones of the British has not disappeared, so after the collapse of the colonial system, britain created a so-called "Commonwealth" to maintain a special relationship between itself and the former colonial countries.
(HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier strike group in the Indian Ocean and Indian Navy joint exercise in 2021)
At the same time, Britain was not willing to decline, and still fantasized about restoring the old glory of the empire. It is precisely because of this nostalgia for the former "world hegemon" throne that although Britain's national strength has declined, it must also pull up the fleet and maintain the so-called "imperial decency", the most typical of which is that when Hong Kong returned in 1997, the British Navy organized a powerful fleet to go to the South China Sea in an attempt to show off its might at the doorstep of China. In the same 2021, the United Kingdom also responded to the call of the United States by sending its newly commissioned aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth to demonstrate in the waters of the western Pacific. After crossing the South China Sea, the British also brazenly declared that their fleet had "left a deep impression" on neighboring countries.
(The Western Pacific countries were really impressed by the British Navy: there were no problems along the way, and an F-35B fell on the way back.)
According to the provisions of the United Nations Law of the Sea, it is legal for the British naval fleet to pass harmlessly through the South China Sea in peacetime, so although we all understand that the British move is a demonstration to China, after all, the navigation of the British fleet is indeed not illegal, so it is not convenient for us to make excessive moves. But the so-called "come and go without being rude also!" "Of course, we can't just leave it at this point in the British hooligans at the doorstep of China, so in today's Sino-Arab joint statement, the mainland tells Britain with firm support for Argentina: Times have changed!"
(Screenshot of British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Tras' social media content)
The joint statement between China and Argentina immediately made the United Kingdom panic, and British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss (Liz Truss) hastily declared on her Twitter on the evening of the 6th local time that she "completely rejects" any questions about the "sovereignty" of the Falklands, saying that it is "a member of the British family" and talking with China about "respecting sovereignty". It is a bit ridiculous that an empire colonized all over the world and a country that has suffered so much from it talk about "respect for sovereignty."
(Although the British won the Battle of the Falklands, they suffered heavy losses, so the British continued to block Argentina's access to advanced weapons and equipment.)
In fact, since the Falklands Naval War in 1982, the British not only stationed a considerable number of armed forces in the Falklands, but also constantly used their political and economic influence to prevent Argentina from obtaining new weapons and equipment, trying to ensure that Argentina would never have the military strength to attack the Falklands. To this end, the British have put pressure to prevent France from selling the Flying Fish anti-ship missile to Argentina, and also prevented South Korea from selling the FA-50 light combat trainer to Argentina. Due to the long lack of advanced fighters, the Argentine Air Force currently has no even flying jets, and can only rely on the propeller attack aircraft "Pukala" to barely survive.
(The Dragon Block 3 fighter has fully reached a level sufficient to compete with the F-16V in terms of electronic technology and weapons, and also has the ability to refuel in the air, which can effectively expand the range.)
However, Argentina is currently interested in the FC-1 Dragon fighter jointly developed by China and Pakistan, because it is almost the only fighter that is not subject to political conditions at present, and Argentina can afford it, and it is also quite advanced in performance.
The latest off-line "Dragon Block 3" fighter has been replaced with KLJ-7A active phased array radar, coupled with the Thunderbolt-10, Thunderbolt-12, Thunderbolt-15 and other advanced air-to-air missiles, the air combat performance of the "Dragon Block 3" is enough to match the F-16V fighter, and the aircraft is relatively low in the current global fighter price, and does not need to attach political conditions, is indeed the best choice for the Argentine Air Force.
(Dragon fighter jet participating in joint exercises in Gulf countries)
Most importantly, although the "Dragon Block 3" fighter itself is small in weight and small in load, the supporting weapon system is very complete, which can take into account both air defense and ground-to-sea attack operations, and is an advanced multi-role fighter. Once Argentina has purchased the "Dragon Block 3" fighter, then to some extent, it will once again have the military strength to compete for the Falklands, which is what britain fears the most!
(In addition to the "Dragon Fighter", China has a lot of weapons to choose from, if the UK does not understand what "respect for sovereignty" is, we can teach the British a lesson for free)
Many years ago, our technological and industrial level was relatively backward, and we could only morally support Argentina, but now China is the world's factory, and our weapons and equipment have formed a complete system, which can completely independently arm a medium power. If a country like Britain still does not know what to do, always pretends to be an empire that "the sun never sets", and will go to China's periphery to show off its might at every turn, then It is also indispensable for China to uphold justice and support the just demands of other third world countries!
Moreover, in addition to the "Dragon Fighter" fighter, China now has more and more advanced export weapons, and we do not mind giving them a lesson on "respecting sovereignty" in a way that the British can understand.