STANLEY, Falkland Islands, May 11 (UPI) -- Argentina's campaign to draw international attention to its sovereignty claim over the British-ruled Falkland Islands are following a pattern that is unlikely to change any time soon, analysts said.
Argentina's pronouncements over Britain's "colonization" of the Falklands increase in intensity each time an upbeat report on the archipelago's oil wealth hits the headlines.
The Argentine verbal onslaught ebbs each time the news disappoints, as it happened in March, when Desire Petroleum's early drilling produced no positive indication the Falklands might be sitting astride a vast reserve of oil and gas, next to that of Saudi Arabia, as indicated by scientific reports.
The news plunged Desire Petroleum shareholders into despair and the U.K.-quoted company's stocks plummeted. Argentine media received the news with ill-concealed glee.
Earlier this month, however, the pendulum swung back as another prospector, Rockhopper Exploration, reported there might be oil -- and lots of it -- after all in North Falkland Basin.
Argentina responded with a condemnation of Britain.
An Argentine Foreign Ministry statement warned the government will take necessary action to prevent "Great Britain from taking illegal possession of Argentina's non-renewable resources."
It added, "Argentina will continue condemning this British illegal action before the international courts."
Argentina has won support from Latin American member-countries of the Union of South American nations for its sovereignty claim over the Falklands but its lobbying at the United Nations produced no results. Instead, Argentina was told to talk directly with Britain.
The next round of drilling results, now imminent, are seen as a likely setting for another upsurge in Argentine campaigning, especially as Britain is distracted amid continuing inter-party talks over the next government after last Thursday's elections.
The Falkland Islands government said it was gearing up for a robust stand against Argentine lobbying at the United Nations and would attend next month's meeting in New York of a special U.N. "Committee of 24" on decolonization.
Argentina and Britain went to war in 1982 after Argentine forces led by the Argentine military dictatorship at the time invaded the Falklands. The resulting 74-day conflict with Britain cost 907 lives. Argentina was repulsed but never gave up its sovereignty claim.
The decolonization talks in New York are seen by Argentina as a forum where it could reassert its claim.
Britain maintains Falklanders have exercised self-determination to stay as a British Overseas Territory. Argentina says the islands are a British colony.
Falklands Assembly Member Emma Edwards said the islands' government wanted to emphasize its independent role. "It is important for the Falkland Islands to raise their profile on the international scene," she said.
The Falklanders have also upped the stakes for themselves by pouring cash savings into the oil exploration effort. Shares in oil exploration companies active in the Falklands made a dramatic recovery after the Rockhopper announcement. Rockhopper shares soared by 32 percent Monday after the latest results.
