Falklands / Argentina / Britain

Argentina's foreign minister has accused the UK of sending a nuclear-armed submarine to the South Atlantic, near the disputed Falkland Islands.

Hector Timerman made the claim at the United Nations on Friday, as Argentina made an official complaint about the UK's "militarisation" of the area.

The two countries went to war in 1982 over the British overseas territory.

Argentina has accused the United Kingdom of deploying nuclear weapons.

In a complaint to the UN, the Argentine Foreign Minister suggested Britain was militarising the waters and airspace around the Falkland Islands.

Argentina insists that the British military activity in the South Atlantic is uncalled for.

Mark Lyall Grant, the British Ambassador to the UN, responded to the accusations saying "the only thing that appears to have changed is the politics in Argentina".

Argentina's transport workers' union says it will boycott ships flying the British flag because of the dispute over the Falkland Islands.

The union - which includes dock workers - said the measure would apply to all UK vessels reaching Argentina.

It is not clear how much impact the boycott will have.

Tension between the UK and Argentina over the Falklands has been rising in recent months as the 30th anniversary of the Falklands war approaches.

"We have resolved to boycott any ship with the British flag, or with the lying and invented flag of the Falklands, or with any flag of convenience which the British pirates use," the Argentine Confederation of Transport Workers said in a statement.

The announcement is the latest in a series of measures aimed at pressing Argentina's claim to sovereignty over the islands, which it calls the Malvinas.

In December, the South American trading bloc Mercosur closed its ports to ships flying the Falkland Islands flag.

And last week Argentina took its case to the UN general assembly, where it accused the UK of "militarising" the region and sending a nuclear-armed submarine to the South Atlantic.

The UK government has dismissed the claim of militarisation as "absurd" and says its defence posture in the Falklands has not changed.

It says there can be no negotiations on sovereignty as long as the Falkland Islanders wish to remain British.

• 2 April 1982
  
  
  Argentina invades
  
  
  Argentine forces invade the Falkland Islands, entering the capital
  Port Stanley early in the morning. The 80-man garrison of Royal Marines
  is outnumbered and Governor Sir Rex Hunt orders it to surrender at 09:15
  local time. Other British South Atlantic territories including South
  Georgia are seized shortly afterwards.
  

• 3-4 April 1982
  
  
  UN condemns Argentina
  
  The UN Security Council condemns the invasion and demands the
  immediate withdrawal of Argentine forces. Soon afterwards, the British
  nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sets sail from Faslane naval base in
  Scotland.
  

• 5 April 1982
  
  
  Task force sets sail
  
  Aircraft carriers HMS Hermes and HMS Invincible sail from
  Portsmouth as part of a task force of more than 100 ships. It will take
  nearly three weeks to travel the 8,000 miles to the South Atlantic.
  Foreign Secretary Lord Carrington resigns over the invasion and is
  replaced by Francis Pym.
  

• 19 April 1982
  
  
  Haig plan dismissed
  
  US Secretary of State Alexander Haig attempts to mediate with the
  Argentine military junta, travelling between London and Buenos Aires to
  negotiate. His proposals include calls for Argentina to withdraw and for
  an interim administration on the islands. However, the junta rejects
  the proposals and signals its insistence on adding guarantees for
  eventual Argentine sovereignty. The talks are effectively over.
  

• 21 April 1982
  
  
  Weather hampers SAS
  
  The British destroyer HMS Antrim arrives off South Georgia, but a
  reconnaissance operation by the SAS on Fortuna Glacier almost ends in
  disaster after two helicopters crash in severe weather conditions. A
  third helicopter manages to extract the SAS men.
  

• 25 April 1982
  
  
  South Georgia recaptured
  
  South Georgia is retaken by Royal Marines, who quickly overcome the
  small Argentine garrison following a bombardment by Royal Navy ships.
  Argentine submarine Santa Fe is badly damaged after being attacked by
  British helicopters off the capital Grytviken. Prime Minister Margaret
  Thatcher tells reporters to "rejoice" at the news of the recapture.
  

• 1 May 1982
  
  
  Stanley airfield bombed
  
  Following initial landings by SAS and SBS special forces on the
  islands, British Vulcan bombers launch the first air raid on Stanley
  airfield. The mission is a logistical nightmare, involving several
  tanker aircraft refuelling bombers during the 8,000-mile round trip from
  Ascension Island.
  

• 2 May 1982
  
  
  General Belgrano sunk
  
  The veteran Argentine cruiser General Belgrano is torpedoed and
  sunk by British submarine HMS Conqueror. It causes the biggest single
  loss of life in the Falklands war as more than 320 Argentines are
  killed. The sinking becomes a cause celebre for British anti-war
  campaigners, who claim the ship was sailing away from the conflict. But
  British officials say the task force has the right to defend itself
  against any potentially hostile vessel.
  

• 4 May 1982
  
  
  HMS Sheffield lost
  
  
  British destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Exocet missile that
  kills 20 crew and starts a fire in the control room, which in turn leads
  to the ship being abandoned. A British Sea Harrier jump jet aircraft is
  lost over Goose Green, the first to be shot down during the conflict.
  

• 14-15 May 1982
  
  
  Pebble Island raid
  
  SAS soldiers attack Argentine forces on Pebble Island, a remote
  spot on the north coast of West Falkland, leaving six Argentine
  ground-attack Pucara aircraft - viewed as a major threat to a British
  landing - burning on the airstrip.
  

• 19 May 1982
  
  
  SAS troops killed
  
  A Sea King helicopter transferring SAS soldiers between ships ditches into the sea, killing 22 men.
  

• 21 May 1982
  
  British land at San Carlos
  
  
  
  British landings begin at San Carlos on East Falkland, with 3,000
  troops and 1,000 tons of supplies brought ashore in order to establish a
  beachhead. But the British frigate HMS Ardent is sunk by Argentine
  aircraft, leaving 22 dead. HMS Argonaut and HMS Antrim are hit by
  Argentine bombs that fail to explode; two die. Fifteen Argentine
  aircraft are shot down.
  

• 23 May 1982
  
  HMS Antelope hit
  
  British frigate HMS Antelope is hit by an Argentine bomb which
  fails to explode. One crewman dies. Ten Argentine aircraft are shot
  down.
  

• 24 May 1982
  
  Antelope abandoned
  
  
  A bomb disposal officer is killed after the bomb he is attempting
  to defuse explodes aboard HMS Antelope. The badly damaged frigate is
  abandoned and later sinks. Landing craft RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir
  Lancelot are hit by Argentine bombs which also fail to detonate. Seven
  Argentine aircraft are shot down.
  

• 25 May 1982
  
  Two more ships lost
  
  British destroyer HMS Coventry sinks after being attacked by
  Argentine aircraft, with the loss of 19 crew. The British Merchant Navy
  container ship Atlantic Conveyor is set ablaze after being hit by Exocet
  missiles. It is abandoned with the loss of 12 crew and three vital
  Chinook transport helicopters.
  

• 26 May 1982
  
  British head for Goose Green
  
  The 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (2 Para) is ordered to
  set out for the neighbouring settlements of Goose Green and Darwin,
  which are held by Argentine forces.
  

• 27 May 1982
  
  Fury over BBC report
  
  
  British forces are furious when the BBC World Service broadcasts
  that the men of 2 Para are advancing on Goose Green and Darwin, but the
  Argentine commander is convinced the report is deliberate
  misinformation.
  

• 28-29 May 1982
  
  Battle of Goose Green
  
  
  2 Para attack Goose Green and Darwin. After fierce fighting, the
  Argentines surrender. Seventeen British servicemen die during the
  battle, including commanding officer Lt Col "H" Jones. Although initial
  reports speak of 250 Argentine dead, the figure is now thought to have
  been much lower - possibly below 50. British troops, who are vastly
  outnumbered, take more than 1,000 prisoners of war.
  

• 31 May 1982
  
  Advance toward Stanley
  
  
  
  British forces advance towards the capital Port Stanley from San
  Carlos, taking the Argentine positions on Mount Kent and Mount
  Challenger.
  

• 8 June 1982
  
  Bluff Cove disaster
  
  
  Landing craft RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram, with units of
  the Welsh Guards on board, are bombed by Argentine aircraft at Bluff
  Cove while attempting to reinforce British positions at Fitzroy. More
  than 50 men die.
  

• 11-12 June 1982
  
  Peaks captured
  
  
  
  British troops take the key objectives of Mount Longdon, Two
  Sisters and Mount Harriet from the Argentines after bloody hand-to-hand
  fighting. British destroyer HMS Glamorgan is badly damaged by a
  shore-launched Exocet missile. Three Falklands civilians, all women, are
  killed during a British naval bombardment of Stanley.
  

• 13-14 June 1982
  
  Argentine positions overrun
  
  
  
  British forces take Argentine positions on mountains overlooking
  Port Stanley on Mount Tumbledown, Wireless Ridge and Mount William amid
  further fierce fighting.
  

• 14 June 1982
  
  British forces enter Stanley
  
  
  White flags are seen flying over Port Stanley, and by noon British
  forces have advanced to the outskirts of the Falklands capital. General
  Mario Menendez surrenders to Major General Jeremy Moore, and 9,800
  Argentine troops put down their arms. British troops march into Stanley.
  

• 16-17 June 1982
  
  President Galtieri resigns
  
  
  UK Defence Minister Peter Blaker announces that the official count
  of British war dead is 255, with approximately 300 wounded. The
  following day, Argentine President Leopoldo Galtieri resigns as leader
  of the country's military junta.