‘No Talks, Just Football’

Abstract

‘We are trying to find a method of reconciling two irreconcilable positions’, Rowlands explained to reporters at the end of the New York summit. As an afterthought he asked them to insert ‘almost’ before ‘irreconcilable’.¹ His opposite number Captain Allara vaguely referred to the talks as ‘positive and a step forward’.² The reality was that nothing of substance had been achieved. Yet given the forbidding reports of Argentine militancy prior to the meeting, the Foreign Office could be pleased with the outcome. Although Falklands sovereignty had not been touched on, Rowlands’ proposals for new arrangements over the Dependencies had at least convinced Allara that the British government was attempting to bring the dispute forward. Threats of invasion or military force were notable by their absence. Just as in 1977 the New Year began with concern over developments on Southern Thule. Three months earlier it was decided not to mount a reconnaissance of the remote island because of financial costs, as well as fears of provoking an incident prior to talks. In the meantime Carless had been told that Argentina’s Antarctic scientific research programme would continue throughout 1978. Knowledge of the station had not yet become public, to the relief of the British government. However, the Foreign Office was told in early January that Argentina’s foreign minister, Oscar Montes, had expressed worries over a possible leak.