ARGENTINA

Trouble seems tobe brewing yet again betweenArgentina and UK. Thethorny issue this timeinvolves fishing in the watersaround South Georgia, some1,287 km south-east of thedisputed Falkland islands.An Argentine vessel had toreportedly pay a license fee tothe 'British authorities to fishfor toothfish, a southAItlantic delicacy in Europeand Japan, in the SouthAtlantic waters recently.Argentina does not recognisethe British right to collectlicence fees in disputedwaters. Said a spokespersonfor the foreign office, "Wedeplore the British attitude,which is not compatible withdialogue and which threatens the continuation of talksabout a fishing agreement inFalklands waters".

In defence, British officials say that the existence ofa licensing regime has continued since 1993 as part ofthe Convention of AntarcticMarine Living Resources andwas instituted mainly to conserve marine species, and theproceeds go towards conservation. However, Argentinanew demands that the SouthGeorgian incident be sortedout and also a South Atlanticfishing policy be framed.