Lord Carrington’s Foreign Office department proposed to resolve the situation by issuing temporary visiting permissions to the workers. Argentine foreign minister Costa Méndez was vague in his response; he wanted the UK to agree to the process agreed in the Communications Treaty which had been adopted on the Falklands and had allowed Argentine planes to land on a weekly basis. But then London established that the scrap party had erected the Argentine flag at South Georgia and the political mood in London changed. Mrs Thatcher was furious at what was perceived as the junta’s aggressive attitude. London now ordered the visiting Argentines to leave and when it became clear their ship had sailed and left workers behind, Mrs Thatcher took action. In consultation with her military commanders, the Prime Minister and Lord Carrington ordered the Royal Navy’s ice patrol ship HMS Endurance to the area. Endurance was heading for Leith at speed to evict the salvage merchants, at the same time the media reported that Royal Navy nuclear submarines were heading to the South Atlantic.
In late 1981, Galtieri and his junta were frustrated at their lack of progress to secure sovereignty. Talks were deadlocked as the Falklands islanders refused to discuss the subject. Galtieri now gambled that the UK would not challenge Argentina’s action in South Georgia. The former Army General and his cohorts reviewed what in their view was a catalogue of clear political signals from London that UK was no longer interested in the Falklands. The junta had the belief that previous negotiations about the islands, had shown the Falklands seemed more of a problem for London and the question of sovereignty was not high on the agenda.
The Communications Treaty had been beneficial for Argentina and had seen an additional agreement to allow Buenos Aires establish a commercial air route into the Falklands manned by Argentine immigration officers. Trade opportunities also emerged including cruise liners visiting Port Stanley.
Then when President Isabel Martínez de Perón was deposed and the military junta approved the landing of Argentine forces on South Thule in the British Sandwich islands, there was little reaction from London. But the visit by Lord but Galtieri could not understand the UK’s ‘measured response’ – which added to give Buenos Aires the perception that London’s interest in the Falklands was waning.
