Peru cancels visit by Royal Navy

20 March 2012 Last updated at 17:45 GMT  HMS Montrose was due to dock near Lima for a friendly visit to Peru Peru has cancelled a visit by a Royal Navy frigate as an act of solidarity with Argentina in its dispute with the UK over the Falkland Islands.

HMS Montrose had been due to dock at the El Callao naval base this week.

The UK Foreign Office said officials could have raised concerns with Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne when he was in the country last week.

Argentina insists the Falkland Islands, which it calls Las Malvinas, belong to it.

'Routine deployment'

Peruvian Foreign Minister Rafael Roncagliolo told news agency Andina Peru he supported Argentina's "legitimate rights" over the Falkland Islands.

He said: "This decision has been taken in the spirit of Latin American solidarity commitments undertaken in the framework of Unasur (Union of South American Nations) with regard to the legitimate rights of Argentina in the sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding waters."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said the UK regretted Peru's decision .

A spokesman said: "HMS Montrose was scheduled to make a short visit to Peru as part of a routine deployment to the region.

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Ship visits are a sovereign decision for states, but we regret that Peru has revoked its previous agreement to this visit”

End Quote Foreign Office spokesman "This was agreed as an act of friendship and co-operation between Peru and the UK. Ship visits are a sovereign decision for states, but we regret that Peru has revoked its previous agreement to this visit.

"This is despite the Peruvian government having had the opportunity on Friday to raise any concerns it had about this agreed co-operation."

The FCO said it had informed the Peruvian foreign ministry that the ship would have been delayed for technical reasons, but "there was no mutual decision to cancel".

Argentina has taken several steps recently to assert its claim that the Falklands belong to its government.

The UK and Argentina are preparing to mark the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War.

On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falklands, only to be defeated by a British task force sent to recover them.

The UK says there will be no negotiations on sovereignty as long as the Falkland islanders wish to remain British.

'No negotiations'

Last week Argentine minister Hector Timmerman threatened legal action against firms drilling off the islands.

But the UK Foreign Office said it was a legitimate commercial venture.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's government has also accused the UK of "militarising" the South Atlantic and criticised Prince William's deployment there after he was posted to work as a RAF rescue helicopter pilot.

Prime Minister David Cameron has said Britain will "continue to protect and defend" the islands and Downing Street has accused Argentina of pursuing a "policy of confrontation" over the Falkland Islands.

Following the Peruvian government's actions, the FCO spokesman added: "The UK government remains fully committed to the Falkland islanders' right to self determination. This position will not change."

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Obama to visit Korea border zone

21 March 2012 Last updated at 02:48 GMT  Messages of hope for reunification line the barbed wire fence near the demilitarised zone President Barack Obama is due to visit the demilitarised zone (DMZ) on South Korea's border with the North on Sunday before a nuclear summit in Seoul.

The United States president's trip to the area separating the north and south on the Korean peninsula comes amidst increased tension over Pyongyang's plan to launch a rocket next month.

His visit will be a show of support for South Korea, said the White House.

There are currently about 28,500 US soldiers stationed in the area.

North and South Korea technically remain at war because their three-year conflict ended in an armistice in 1953 and no peace treaty was signed. The US has since stationed troops in South Korea.

The 4km(2.5-mile)-wide DMZ is probably the most heavily guarded border area in the world. Former US President Bill Clinton described it as ''the scariest place on earth'' when he visited in the 1990s.

Mr Obama, who is expected to renew pressure on Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions, will also meet South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak ahead of the summit starting on Monday.

The three-day Nuclear Security Summit involves more than 53 leaders from nations and international organisations.

Mr Obama is also due to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao and is widely expected to urge him to draw on Beijing's influence for nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang.

'Grave provocation'

North Korea's announcement last week that it will launch a rocket carrying a satellite to mark its late leader Kim Il-sung's birth centenary in April drew widespread criticism.

The move is seen as violating UN Security Council resolutions passed after a similar launch in 2009.

South Korea said the launch would be a "grave provocation" and Japan urged the North to "exercise restraint".

Japan, particularly concerned as the 2009 rocket was launched over the country, said the move would ''interfere with our effort toward a dialogue''.

Last month, Pyongyang agreed to suspend long-range missile tests as part of a deal for the US to supply 240,000 tonnes of food aid to North Korea.

The US has said that the planned launch could violate the agreement and affect the resumption of food aid.

The North said that the ''working satellite'' launch is an opportunity for ''putting the country's technology of space use for peaceful purposes on a higher stage''.

At the nuclear summit dedicated to reducing the threats of nuclear terrorism, the North Korean issue will loom large, along with that of Iran's nuclear programme.

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