UK to be 'relentless' in defending Falkland Islands: Premier

The British prime minister reiterated Wednesday that the country will defend the Falkland Islands and the islanders' rights.

"We will always respect the rights of the Falkland Islanders to choose to be British," Andy Burnham told lawmakers during a weekly Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons.

He stressed that the position on the islands "will never" be changed under his government. "We will be relentless in defending that."

Burnham's statement came after main opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch accused the government of surrendering British sovereign territories, including the Chagos Islands.

"Other countries are making claims over our sovereign territory. They smell weakness," said Badenoch.

In response, Burnham said the UK will not surrender its Diego Garcia base at the remote coral atoll in the central Indian Ocean, and the country is in discussion with the US on the matter.

The UK and Mauritius signed a deal last year to transfer sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius, ending more than two centuries of British rule, in exchange for allowing the US and UK to continue operating the strategically important Diego Garcia military base for the next 99 years.

The Maldives, however, opposes the deal, which has not yet taken effect and is pending domestic ratification.

Recently, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has asked Burnham for talks on the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands.