Editing Falklands War (section)

== Foreign involvement ==
===Commonwealth===
The UK received political support from member countries of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]]. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand withdrew their diplomats from Buenos Aires.<ref name="Martin, Lisa L.">{{Cite journal |last1=Martin |first1=Lisa L. |date=Spring 1992 |title=Institutions and Cooperation: Sanctions During the Falkland Islands Conflict |url=https://web.stanford.edu/class/ips216/Readings/martin_92.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701050238/http://web.stanford.edu/class/ips216/Readings/martin_92.pdf |archive-date=1 July 2015 |url-status=live |journal=International Security |volume=16 |issue=4 |page=150 |doi=10.2307/2539190|jstor=2539190 |s2cid=154742007 |access-date=11 December 2018}}</ref>

====New Zealand====
The New Zealand government expelled the Argentine ambassador following the invasion. The Prime Minister, [[Robert Muldoon]], was in London when the war broke out<ref>{{cite web |title=Falklands War cartoon |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/falklands-war-cartoon |website=NZ History |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage |access-date=17 September 2018 |date=20 November 2013 |archive-date=18 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918012310/https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/falklands-war-cartoon |url-status=live }}</ref> and in an opinion piece published in ''[[The Times]]'' he said: "The military rulers of Argentina must not be appeased ... New Zealand will back Britain all the way." Broadcasting on the [[BBC World Service]], he told the Falkland Islanders: "This is Rob Muldoon. We are thinking of you and we are giving our full and total support to the British Government in its endeavours to rectify this situation and get rid of the people who have invaded your country."<ref name="when-rob-met-maggie">{{cite web |last1=Black |first1=Joanne |title=From our archive: when Rob met Maggie |url=https://www.noted.co.nz/archive/listener-nz-2013/from-our-archive-when-rob-met-maggie/ |work=New Zealand Listener |access-date=17 September 2018 |date=9 April 2013 |archive-date=30 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130125854/https://www.noted.co.nz/archive/listener-nz-2013/from-our-archive-when-rob-met-maggie/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> On 20 May 1982, he announced that New Zealand would make {{ship|HMNZS|Canterbury|F421|6}}, a {{sclass|Leander|frigate}}, available for use where the British thought fit to release a Royal Navy vessel for the Falklands.<ref>''New Zealand Foreign Affairs Review'', Volume 32, p. 44, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1982</ref> In the House of Commons afterwards, [[Margaret Thatcher]] said: "...the New Zealand Government and people have been absolutely magnificent in their support for this country [and] the Falkland Islanders, for the rule of liberty and of law".<ref name="when-rob-met-maggie"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1982/may/20/engagements |title=United Kingdom, Parliamentary Debate, Debates, 20 May 1982. |access-date=25 September 2019 |archive-date=25 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925070302/https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1982/may/20/engagements |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Australia====
Encouraged by the generous response of New Zealand, the Australian prime minister, [[Malcolm Fraser]], was rushed into offering to cancel the intended purchase of [[HMS Invincible (R05)|HMS Invincible]] which was quickly accepted by the British. However, this left the [[Royal Australian Navy]] without a replacement for their only aircraft carrier, {{HMAS|Melbourne|R21|6}}, which was in the process of decommissioning.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=183}}</ref>

===France===
The French president, [[François Mitterrand]], declared an embargo on French arms sales and assistance to Argentina.<ref name="Thomson, Mike, 2012">{{Cite news | last=Thomson | first=Mike | title=How France helped both sides in the Falklands War | publisher=BBC | date=5 March 2012 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17256975 | access-date=21 July 2018 | archive-date=18 October 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018223501/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17256975 | url-status=live }}</ref> In addition, France allowed UK aircraft and warships use of its port and airfield facilities at [[Dakar]] in [[Senegal]]<ref name="A-Z of the Falklands War"/> and France provided [[Dissimilar air combat training|dissimilar aircraft training]] so that Harrier pilots could train against the French aircraft used by Argentina.<ref>{{cite web|quote=As soon as the conflict began [[Charles Hernu|Hernu]] (French Defence Minister) got in touch with me to make available a Super-Étendard and Mirage aircraft so our Harrier pilots could train against them before setting off to the South Atlantic. (John Nott, defence minister during the Falklands war) |first=Nott |last=John |title=Here Today, Gone Tomorrow |url=http://www.falklands.info/history/hist82article17.html |year=2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122064540/http://falklands.info/history/hist82article17.html |archive-date=22 November 2010 }}</ref> French intelligence also cooperated with Britain to prevent Argentina from obtaining more [[Exocet]] missiles on the international market.<ref>{{cite web|quote=A remarkable world-wide operation then ensured to prevent further Exocets being bought by Argentina. I authorised our agents to pose as bona fide purchasers of equipment on the international market, ensuring that we outbid the Argentines. Other agents identified Exocet missiles in various markets and covertly rendered them inoperable, based on information from the French. (John Nott, defence minister during the Falklands war) |first=Nott |last=John |title=Here Today, Gone Tomorrow |url=http://www.falklands.info/history/hist82article17.html |year=2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122064540/http://falklands.info/history/hist82article17.html |archive-date=22 November 2010 }}</ref> In a 2002 interview, and in reference to this support, [[John Nott]], the then British Defence Secretary, had described France as Britain's 'greatest ally'. In 2012, it came to light that while this support was taking place, a French technical team, employed by [[Dassault]] and already in Argentina, remained there throughout the war despite the presidential decree. The team had provided material support to the Argentines, identifying and fixing faults in Exocet missile launchers. John Nott said he had known the French team was there but said its work was thought not to be of any importance. An adviser to the then French government denied any knowledge at the time that the technical team was there. The French [[DGSE]] did know the team was there as they had an informant in the team but decried any assistance the team gave: "It's bordering on an act of treason, or disobedience to an embargo". John Nott, when asked if he felt let down by the French said "If you're asking me: 'Are the French duplicitous people?' the answer is: 'Of course they are, and they always have been".<ref name="Thomson, Mike, 2012"/> Four Exocet missiles that had been ordered by Peru were prevented by the French government from being delivered by air and, after pressure from Britain who suspected that they would be passed on to Argentina, delayed their release to a Peruvian ship until the conflict was over.<ref>{{harvnb|White|2020|p=391}}</ref>

===United States===
Declassified cables show the United States both felt that Thatcher had not considered diplomatic options and feared that a protracted conflict could draw the [[Soviet Union]] on Argentina's side.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/01/us-feared-falklands-war-documents | work=The Guardian | first=Julian | last=Borger | title=U.S. feared Falklands war would be 'close-run thing', documents reveal | date=1 April 2012 | location=London | access-date=11 December 2016 | archive-date=21 April 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160421073528/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/01/us-feared-falklands-war-documents | url-status=live }}</ref> The US initially tried to mediate an end to the conflict through [[shuttle diplomacy]], but when Argentina refused the American peace overtures, US Secretary of State [[Alexander Haig]] announced that the United States would prohibit arms sales to Argentina and provide material support for British operations. Both houses of the [[US Congress]] passed resolutions supporting the American action siding with the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |first=Richard F. |last=Grimmett |url=https://fpc.state.gov/6172.htm#President_as_Initiator |title=Foreign Policy Roles of the President and Congress |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date=1 June 1999 |access-date=24 February 2010 |archive-date=25 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225092813/http://fpc.state.gov/6172.htm#President_as_Initiator |url-status=live }}</ref>

The US provided the United Kingdom with 200 [[AIM-9 Sidewinder|Sidewinder]] missiles for use by the Harrier jets,<ref>Paul Reynolds, "[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4854962.stm Obituary: Caspar Weinberger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030051858/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4854962.stm |date=30 October 2012 }}," BBC News, 28 March 2006.</ref><ref>Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher would later write, "Without the Harriers... using the latest version of the Sidewinder air-to-air missile supplied by Caspar Weinberger, we could not have retaken the Falklands." in {{Cite book |last1=Snow |first1=Peter |title=20th century battlefields |last2=Snow |first2=Dan |date=2008 |publisher=BBC Books |isbn=978-1-84607-286-4 |location=London |pages=270}}</ref> eight Stinger surface-to-air missile systems, [[Harpoon (missile)|Harpoon anti-ship missiles]] and mortar bombs.<ref>{{Cite news|date=29 May 1988|title=Lehman: British Would Have Lost Falklands War Without U.S. Support|work=AP News|url=https://apnews.com/article/62abef3ba2a854e0c1707d5d5a884b42|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=14 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614195156/https://apnews.com/article/62abef3ba2a854e0c1707d5d5a884b42|url-status=live}}</ref> On Ascension Island, the underground fuel tanks were empty when the British Task Force arrived in mid-April 1982 and the leading assault ship, {{HMS|Fearless|L10|6}}, did not have enough fuel to dock when it arrived off the island. The United States diverted a [[supertanker]] to replenish both the fuel tanks of ships at anchor there and the storage tanks on the island with approximately {{convert|2,000,000|USgal}} of fuel.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Fo|first=Robert|date=4 April 2012|title=CIA files reveal how US helped Britain retake the Falklands|work=Evening Standard|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/cia-files-reveal-how-us-helped-britain-retake-the-falklands-7618420.html|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105101330/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/cia-files-reveal-how-us-helped-britain-retake-the-falklands-7618420.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Pentagon further committed to providing additional support in the event that the war dragged on into the Southern Hemisphere's winter. In that scenario, the US committed tanker aircraft to support Royal Air Force missions in Europe, releasing RAF aircraft to support operations over the Falklands.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Halloran|first=Richard|date=21 May 1982|title=U.S. Plans Supplies If Fighting Lasts|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000201050001-4.pdf|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906232524/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000201050001-4.pdf|url-status=live}} via CIA Reading Room</ref>

The United States allowed the United Kingdom to use American communication satellites for secure communications between submarines in the Southern Ocean and Naval HQ in Britain. The US also passed on satellite imagery (which it publicly denied<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wilson|first=George C.|date=16 April 1982|title=U.S.: No Spy Satellites Operating Over Falklands|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000201050001-4.pdf|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=6 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906232524/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP90-00552R000201050001-4.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>) and weather forecast data to the British Fleet.<ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88-01070R000100140012-7.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105101330/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88-01070R000100140012-7.pdf |archive-date=5 November 2021 |url-status=live|title=U.S. and the Falklands|date=13 April 1982|last=Koppel|first=Ted|type=TV News Report|language=English|publisher=CIA|others=Haig, Alexander; Laurence, John; Bernstein, Carl; Von Fremd, Mike; Clinton-Davis, Stanley; Quijano, Raul; Vanocur, Sander; Dunsmore, Barrie}}</ref>

US President Ronald Reagan approved the Royal Navy's request to borrow a [[Sea Harrier]]-capable {{sclass|Iwo Jima|amphibious assault ship}} (the US Navy had earmarked {{USS|Guam|LPH-9}} for this<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/article/62abef3ba2a854e0c1707d5d5a884b42|title=Lehman: British Would Have Lost Falklands War Without U.S. Support|website=AP News|access-date=28 November 2020|archive-date=8 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208223208/https://apnews.com/article/62abef3ba2a854e0c1707d5d5a884b42|url-status=live}}</ref>) in the event a British aircraft carrier was lost. The [[US Navy]] developed a plan to help the British man the ship with American [[military contractors]], who would likely be retired sailors with knowledge of the ship's systems.<ref name="usni20120627">{{cite news | url=http://news.usni.org/news-analysis/news/reagan-readied-us-warship-82-falklands-war-0 | title=Reagan Readied U.S. Warship for '82 Falklands War | work=News and Analysis, U.S. Naval Institute | date=27 June 2012 | access-date=27 June 2012 | archive-date=30 June 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630111528/http://news.usni.org/news-analysis/news/reagan-readied-us-warship-82-falklands-war-0 | url-status=live }}</ref>

===Other [[Organization of American States|OAS]] members===
====Cuba====
Argentina itself was politically backed by a number of countries in [[Latin America]] (though, notably, not [[Chile]]). Several members of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] also backed Argentina's position; notably, [[Cuba]] and [[Nicaragua]] led a diplomatic effort to rally non-aligned countries from Africa and Asia to Argentina's position. This initiative came as a surprise to Western observers, as Cuba had no diplomatic relations with Argentina's right-leaning military junta. British diplomats complained that Cuba had "cynically exploited" the crisis to pursue its normalisation of relations with Latin American countries; Argentina eventually resumed relations with Cuba in 1983; Brazil did so in 1986.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Krepp|first1=Stella Paresa|date=April 2017|title=Between the Cold War and the Global South: Argentina and Third World Solidarity in the Falklands/Malvinas Crisis|journal=Estudos Históricos (Rio de Janeiro)|volume=30|issue=60|pages=141–160|doi=10.1590/s2178-14942017000100008|issn=0103-2186|doi-access=free}}</ref> According to [[Leycester Coltman]], Cuban president [[Fidel Castro]] offered to send troops to reinforce the Argentine garrison in the Falklands and to deploy the Cuban submarine fleet to attack British warships en route to the South Atlantic.<ref>[https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/739484/fidel-castro-cuban-leader-falklands-war-wanted-to-bomb-british-ships REVEALED: Tyrant Fidel Castro wanted to bomb BRITISH SHIPS in Falklands War] </ref>

====Peru====
[[Peru]] attempted to purchase 12 Exocet missiles from France, to be delivered to Argentina in a failed secret operation.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://en.mercopress.com/2012/04/03/the-peruvian-exocet-connection-in-the-falklands-malvinas-war | title=The Peruvian Exocet connection in the Falklands/Malvinas war | work=Mercopress | date=3 April 2012 | access-date=21 April 2012 | archive-date=8 April 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408032756/http://en.mercopress.com/2012/04/03/the-peruvian-exocet-connection-in-the-falklands-malvinas-war | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://america.infobae.com/notas/47496-El-otro-rol-de-Peru-durante-la-guerra-de-Malvinas | title=El otro rol de Peru durante la guerra de Malvinas | work=Infobae | date=1 April 2012 | access-date=21 April 2012 | language=es | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505053041/http://america.infobae.com/notas/47496-El-otro-rol-de-Peru-durante-la-guerra-de-Malvinas | archive-date=5 May 2012 | df=dmy-all }}</ref> Peru also openly sent "[[Dassault Mirage|Mirages]], pilots and missiles" to Argentina during the war.<ref>[http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2010/03/24/elpais/p-02165910.htm "Tras el pedido de perdón y en medio de elogios, Cristina regresó de Perú"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023004623/http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2010/03/24/elpais/p-02165910.htm |date=23 October 2012 }} in Argentine newspaper ''[[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarín]]'' on 24 March 2010 {{in lang|es}}</ref> That nation also supplied the Argentine forces with 40 Strela-2M shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile launchers and three experienced operators to help train in the use of those weapons.<ref>[https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2019/06/19/malvinas-documentos-desclasificados-peru-y-libia-ayudaron-a-la-argentina-con-misiles-sovieticos/ Perú y Libia ayudaron a la Argentina con misiles soviéticos]</ref> Peru had earlier transferred ten Hercules transport planes to Argentina soon after the British Task Force had set sail in April 1982.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burns |first=Jimmy |title=The land that lost its heroes: how Argentina lost the Falklands War |date=2002 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-0-7475-5872-9 |location=London |pages=190}}</ref> Nick van der Bijl records that, after the Argentine defeat at Goose Green, [[Venezuela]] and [[Guatemala]] offered to send [[paratrooper]]s to the Falklands.<ref>{{cite book |last=van der Bijl |first=Nick |date=1999 |title=Nine battles to Stanley |publisher=Leo Cooper |isbn=978-0850526196 |page=141 |quote=The Junta were slow to admit defeat, but when the news was broadcast, Venezuela and Guatemala offered to send airborne units to 'smash the British in the Falklands'. }}</ref>

====Chile====
At the outbreak of the war, [[Chile]] was in negotiations with Argentina for control over the [[Beagle Channel]] and feared Argentina would use similar tactics to secure the channel.<ref name=":0">{{Cite report|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000701780020-2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413090319/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000701780020-2.pdf |archive-date=13 April 2021 |url-status=live|title=Falkland Islands Situation Report #1|date=2 April 1982|publisher=CIA|publication-date=14 February 2008|access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref> During this [[Beagle conflict|conflict]], Argentina had already rejected two attempts at international mediation and tried to exert military pressure on Chile with an operation to occupy the disputed territory. Considering the situation, Chile refused to support the Argentine position during the war<ref>{{Cite report|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000701780021-1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105101331/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP84B00049R000701780021-1.pdf |archive-date=5 November 2021 |url-status=live|title=Falkland Islands Situation Report #2|date=3 April 1982|publisher=CIA|publication-date=14 February 2008|access-date=5 November 2021}}</ref> and gave support to the UK in the form of intelligence about the Argentine military and early warning intelligence on Argentine air movements.<ref>Interview with [[Chilean Air Force]] Chief during the Falklands War Fernando Matthei [http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2005/09/01/elpais/p-01201.htm Malvinas: "Hice todo lo posible para que Argentina perdiera la guerra"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526000240/http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2005/09/01/elpais/p-01201.htm |date=26 May 2011 }} in [[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarin]], Buenos Aires on 1. September 2005. Retrieved 11 Jule 2011</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Freedman|2005b|pp=397}}</ref> Throughout the war, Argentina was afraid of a Chilean military intervention in [[Patagonia]] and kept some of its best mountain regiments away from the Falklands near the Chilean border as a precaution.<ref>''"The best trained units of the Argentine army, the 6th and 8th Mountain Brigades and the 11th Cold Weather Brigade were left behind to guard the frontier with Chile."'' in {{Cite book |last=Barua |first=Pradeep |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004249110 |title=The Military Effectiveness of Post-Colonial States |date=2013 |publisher=BRILL |doi=10.1163/9789004249110 |isbn=978-90-04-24324-8 |publication-date=152}}</ref> The Chilean government also allowed the United Kingdom to requisition the refuelling vessel {{ship|RFA|Tidepool|A76|6}}, which Chile had recently purchased and which had arrived at [[Arica]] in Chile on 4 April. The ship left port soon afterwards, bound for [[Ascension Island]] through the [[Panama Canal]] and stopping at [[Curaçao]] en route.<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Fleet Auxiliary Tidepool |url=http://historicalrfa.org/rfa-tidepool-ships-details |website=RFA Historical Society |access-date=4 July 2019 |archive-date=27 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527162636/http://historicalrfa.org/rfa-tidepool-ships-details |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Oyarzún Lemonnier |first=Agustín |date=1983 |title=Guerra en las Falklands |language=es |publisher=Editorial Cumbres |page=199 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lepot |first=François |date=2002 |title=Malvinas desde Londres |language=es |publisher=Ciudad Argentina |page=254 }}</ref>

====Brazil====
At the end of May, Brazilian authorities allowed FAA Boeing 707s to refuel at [[Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre International Airport|Recife International Airport]] carrying arms shipments from [[Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|Libya]]. When the British Embassy in [[Brasília]] became aware of this, the British [[Secret Intelligence Service]] devised a plan to sabotage the next flight on the ground, but diplomatic pressure on the Brazilian government to observe their legal duties as a [[neutral country]] resulted in no further flights being accepted.<ref>{{harvnb|White|2020|pp=391–392}}</ref> On 3 June, an RAF Vulcan on returning from a Black Buck raid on the Falklands, was forced to make an emergency landing at [[Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport|Rio de Janeiro International Airport]] after damage to its refuelling probe prevented it returning to Ascension Island. The Vulcan and her crew were interned and released seven days later, although an unused Shrike missile that the aircraft had been carrying was retained.<ref>{{harvnb|Middlebrook|2012|p=293}}</ref>

===Soviet Union===
The [[Soviet Union]] described the Falklands as "a disputed territory", recognising Argentina's ambitions over the islands, and called for restraint on all sides. Soviet media frequently criticised the UK and US during the war. Significantly, however, the Soviet Union refrained from vetoing and thus made possible [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]] [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 502|Resolution 502]] demanding the immediate withdrawal of all Argentine troops from the Falklands. However, the Soviet Union mounted some clandestine logistics operations to assist the Argentines.<ref name="brazil-ussr">{{cite news | url=http://en.mercopress.com/2012/04/23/brazil-helped-soviet-support-operation-for-argentina-during-the-falklands-conflict | title=Brazil helped Soviet support operation for Argentina during the Falklands conflict | work=MercoPress | date=23 April 2012 | access-date=6 June 2012 | archive-date=30 May 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530115548/http://en.mercopress.com/2012/04/23/brazil-helped-soviet-support-operation-for-argentina-during-the-falklands-conflict | url-status=live }}</ref> Days after the invasion by the Argentine forces, the Soviets launched additional intelligence satellites into [[low Earth orbit]] covering the southern Atlantic Ocean. Conflicting reports exist on whether Soviet ocean surveillance data might have played a role in the sinking of {{HMS|Sheffield|D80|6}} and {{HMS|Coventry|D118|6}}.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Jonson|first=Nicholas L.|date=1 March 1983|title=Soviet Strides in Space|work=Air Force Magazine|url=https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0383soviet/|access-date=5 November 2021|archive-date=6 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006203317/https://www.airforcemag.com/article/0383soviet/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mastny|first=Vojtech|date=1983|title=The Soviet Union and the Falklands War|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44636371|journal=Naval War College Review|volume=36|issue=3|pages=46–55|jstor=44636371|issn=0028-1484|access-date=17 September 2020|archive-date=21 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221233747/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44636371|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Russian book confirms Soviet intelligence support for Argentina in Malvinas war|url=https://en.mercopress.com/2010/05/31/russian-book-confirms-soviet-intelligence-support-for-argentina-in-malvinas-war|access-date=17 September 2020|website=MercoPress|language=en|archive-date=26 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026131226/https://en.mercopress.com/2010/05/31/russian-book-confirms-soviet-intelligence-support-for-argentina-in-malvinas-war|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Spain ===
Spain's position was one of ambiguity, underpinning the basic dilemma of the Spanish foreign policy regarding the articulation of relationships with Latin America and European communities.<ref>{{Cite journal|page=224|journal=Estudios Internacionales|volume=27|issue=106|year=1994|first=Esther|publisher=[[Universidad de Chile]]|doi=10.5354/0719-3769.1994.15349|url=https://revistaei.uchile.cl/index.php/REI/article/view/15349/24852|last=Barbé|title=Entre Europa y América Latina: la diplomacia española frente al conflicto de las Malvinas|jstor=41391473|format=pdf|access-date=17 May 2021|archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517000455/https://revistaei.uchile.cl/index.php/REI/article/view/15349/24852|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref> On 2 April 1982, the [[Council of Ministers (Spain)|Council of Ministers]] issued an official note defending principles of decolonisation and against the use of force.{{Sfn|Barbé|1994|p=228}} Spain abstained in the vote of UN Security Council Resolution 502, a position that Spanish UN representative [[Jaime de Piniés]] justified by pointing out that the resolution did not mention the underlying problem of decolonisation.{{Sfn|Barbé|1994|p=228}} The Spanish stance throughout the conflict contrasted with those of the countries in its immediate vicinity (EEC members and Portugal).{{Sfn|Barbé|1994|pp=222–223}}

Spanish authorities also foiled a covert attack by the [[Servicio de Inteligencia Naval (Argentina)|Argentine Naval Intelligence Service]] on a British warship at [[Gibraltar]], code named [[Operation Algeciras]]. Three [[frogmen]], recruited from a former anti-government insurgent group, were to plant mines on a ship's hull. The divers travelled to Spain through France, where French security services noted their military diving equipment and alerted their Spanish counterparts. They were covertly monitored as they moved from the Argentine embassy in Madrid to [[Algeciras]], where they were arrested on 17 May by the ''[[Guardia Civil]]'' and [[Deportation|deported]].<ref>Southby-Tailyour 2014, pp. 32-34</ref>

=== Portugal ===
Portugal supported its [[Anglo-Portuguese Alliance|long-standing ally]] Britain and the facilities of the [[Azores]] were offered to the Royal Navy.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Fergusson |first1=George |last2=Trowbridge |first2=Benjamin |title=History's Unparalleled Alliance: the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of Windsor, 9th May 1386 |website=History of British Government |date=9 May 2016 |url=https://history.blog.gov.uk/2016/05/09/historys-unparalleled-alliance-the-anglo-portuguese-treaty-of-windsor-9th-may-1386/}}</ref>

=== EEC ===
The [[European Economic Community]] provided economic support by imposing [[economic sanctions]] on Argentina. In a meeting on [[Good Friday]], 9 April, at the [[Egmont Palace]], the EEC Political Committee proposed a total import ban from Argentina. Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Luxembourg and Ireland agreed immediately; France, Germany and the Netherlands were persuaded before the meeting ended. Italy, which had close cultural ties with Argentina, consented on the next day.<ref>{{harvnb|Eddy|Gillman|Linklater|Sunday_Times_of_London_Insight_Team|1982|p=118}}</ref>

===Other countries===
====Ireland====
Ireland's position altered during the war. As a rotating member of the United Nations Security Council, it supported Resolution 502. However, on 4 May, the [[Government of the 23rd Dáil|Fianna Fáil government]] led by [[Charles Haughey]] decided to oppose EEC sanctions and called for a ceasefire. Haughey justified this as complying with [[Irish neutrality]]. Historians have suggested it was an opportunistic appeal to anti-British sentiment and reaction to Haughey's being sidelined during the [[1981 Irish hunger strike|1981 republican hunger strike]]. The strain on [[Ireland–United Kingdom relations|British–Irish relations]] eased when Haughey's government fell [[November 1982 Irish general election|in November 1982]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=MacQueen|first1=Norman|date=March 1985|title=The Expedience of Tradition: Ireland, International Organization and the Falklands Crisis|journal=Political Studies|volume=33|issue=1|pages=38–55|doi=10.1111/j.1467-9248.1985.tb01560.x|s2cid=143438196}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Tonra|first1=Ben|title=Domestic sources of foreign policy : West European reactions to the Falklands Conflict|date=1996|publisher=Berg|isbn=978-1-85973-088-1|editor1-last=Stavridis|editor1-first=Stelios|location=Oxford|pages=132–150|chapter=The internal dissenter (II) : Ireland|editor2-last=Hill|editor2-first=Christopher|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/domesticsourceso0000unse/page/132/|via=Internet Archive|chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Kelly|first1=Stephen|date=October 2016|title=An Opportunistic Anglophobe: Charles J. Haughey, the Irish Government and the Falklands War, 1982|url=https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/1202/|journal=Contemporary British History|volume=30|issue=4|pages=522–541|doi=10.1080/13619462.2016.1162158|access-date=18 May 2021|s2cid=146944559|archive-date=18 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518174619/https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/1202/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Israel====
According to the book ''Operation Israel'', advisers from [[Israel Aerospace Industries]] were already in Argentina and continued their work during the conflict. The book also claims that Israel sold weapons and [[drop tank]]s to Argentina in a secret operation via Peru.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Yapp |first=Robin |date=20 April 2011 |title=Israel 'supplied arms to Argentina during Falklands War' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/8463934/Israel-supplied-arms-to-Argentina-during-Falklands-War.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/8463934/Israel-supplied-arms-to-Argentina-during-Falklands-War.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |access-date=18 April 2012 |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/begin-aided-argentina-during-falklands-war-to-avenge-the-british-1.357246 |title=Begin aided Argentina during Falklands War to avenge the British |newspaper=Haaretz |date=21 April 2011 |access-date=18 April 2012 |archive-date=15 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015225941/http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/begin-aided-argentina-during-falklands-war-to-avenge-the-british-1.357246 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Sierra Leone====
The [[Government of Sierra Leone]] allowed British task force ships to refuel at [[Freetown]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Falklands: MT message to President Stevens of Sierra Leone (thanks for allowing Navy ships to refuel at Freetown) |url=https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/123285 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation |access-date=8 October 2018 |date=24 April 1982 |archive-date=8 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181008135040/https://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/123285 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====The Gambia====
VC10 transport aircraft landed at [[Banjul]] in [[The Gambia]] while flying between the UK and [[Ascension Island]].<ref name="A-Z of the Falklands War">{{cite web |last1=Fremont-Barnes |first1=Gregory |title=An A-Z of the Falklands War |url=https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/an-a-z-of-the-falklands-war/ |website=The History Press |access-date=16 October 2018 |archive-date=16 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016164850/https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/an-a-z-of-the-falklands-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Libya====
Through [[Libyan Arab Jamahiriya|Libya]], under [[Muammar Gaddafi]], Argentina received 20 launchers and 60 [[SA-7]] missiles (which Argentina later described as "not effective"), as well as machine guns, mortars and mines. To retrieve the weapons, four trips were made using two Argentine Air Force [[Boeing 707]]s{{clarify|reason=What is the AAF?|date=April 2022}} which refuelled in [[Recife]] with the consent of the Brazilian government.<ref>Hernan Dobry in article [http://www.diarioperfil.com.ar/edimp/0551/articulo.php?art=27476&ed=0551 Kadafi fue un amigo solidario de la dictadura durante Malvinas] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917020027/http://www.diarioperfil.com.ar/edimp/0551/articulo.php?art=27476&ed=0551 |date=17 September 2011 }}, in Argentine newspaper ''[[Perfil]]'' on 27 February 2011, in Spanish language</ref>