LONDON: Britain would have to hold its air base on the Falklands unaided for at least a week in the event of another Argentine invasion, a defence pressure group warned Sunday.
The UK National Defence Association, which campaigns on British military matters, claimed the archipelago was more vulnerable than at any time since the 1982 Falklands War between Britain and Argentina over the islands.
In a report ahead of the 30th anniversary of the invasion on Monday, the body said Britain would find it difficult to "protect, reinforce or retake" the South Atlantic islands, largely due to the lack of aircraft carrier strike capability.
"Even in the most favourable circumstances... the deployment of additional fighters and a reasonable war-fighting force would take approximately a week," the report said.
"In effect, this means that the British garrison would necessarily have to hold Mount Pleasant airfield and its environs for a week before help arrived.
"There would be no fighter cover for the landing force and shipping. There is no carrier... There is no question of providing air support using Royal Air Force fighters.
"There are no bases within range. In-flight re-fuelling, given the number of re-fuels required for a round trip of 8,000 miles (12,900 kilometres) from Ascension, would be impossible in the face of the threat posed by the Argentine air force.
"The UK would be hard put to protect, reinforce or retake the islands... history could well be about to repeat itself -- but this time with a different outcome."
Britain's Defence Secretary Philip Hammond told The Times newspaper last week that Argentina's ageing aircraft do not present a military threat.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: "Unlike in 1982, we have a well defended airfield in the Falklands with ground-based air defences, and continue to have the ability to reinforce by air and sea.
"People should be reassured by the contingencies that we now have in place compared to 30 years ago. That said, there is no evidence of any current credible military threat to the Falkland Islands."
Britain has held the Falklands since 1833, but Buenos Aires claims the barren islands are occupied Argentine territory.
On April 2, 1982, the then-ruling junta in Argentina invaded the Falklands, sparking a 74-day war with Britain which cost the lives of 649 Argentine and 255 British troops.
Diplomatic friction between Argentina and Britain has intensified since 2010, when London authorised oil prospecting in the waters around the windswept islands, which are home to less than 3,000 people.
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