London: British officials have defended the deployment of Prince William to the Falkland Islands, after Argentina reportedly condemned the move as a provocative act.
Both countries fought a brief war in 1982 over the islands, which are 290 miles (460 kilometres) east of Argentina's coast.
David Richards, the chief of Britain's armed forces, said on Sunday the decision to deploy the prince next year —the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War — as an Air Force search and rescue pilot "wasn't and isn't designed to be" provocative.
Officials announced on Wednesday that William will spend six weeks in February and March at the British outpost. It was condemned by an Argentine official, Sebastian Brugo Marco, in the paper La Nacion.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, November 13, 2011, 22:54