Port Stanley, the Falklands. Photo credit: Skinnyde

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner yesterday that the US is ready to help mediate between Britain and Argentina resolve dual ownership claims to the long-disputed Falkland Islands.

Clinton’s offer comes amid rising tensions between the two countries as Britain pursues oil exploration in the South American continental shelf, about 100 miles north of the Falklands capital city, Port Stanley. Despite fighting a bloody war in 1982 over ownership of the islands, which left Britain in control of the islands, Argentina has never acknowledged Britain’s claim to the Falklands.

The Guardian reported that Kirchner has been pushing Britain to engage in diplomatic talks over the islands, even rallying support from fellow Latin American and Caribbean nations; she requested the US intervene as “friendly mediation.”

The Falklands issue has been an incredibly sensitive one for Argentina and Britain, although the latter’s response, at least in the media, to Argentina’s “saber-rattling” has been by turns mocking and incredulous. Still, some observers, notably Simon Jenkins in The Guardian, believe it’s time for Britain to engage Argentina on the issue, rather simply dismissing it.