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like Canada and New Zealand have followed suit, and it is
said that some leading banks in the western world and in
Japan have adopted stricter policies on loans to Argentina.
On the other hand, Argentina herself has been suffering from
a poor domestic economy, hostilities with Britain would certainly
have an adverse effect on the people's livelihood. I believe
that the Argentine government is also looking forward to a speedy
settlement of the issue.
John D. Young : The US President, Mr. Ronald Reagan, had before
Argentina invaded the Falklands telephoned the Argentine President
and made a fruitless attempt to dissuade the Argentinians from
taking military action. This reveals Reagan's incompetence.
The Falklands crisis is in fact the outcome of the delicate
interplay of the two countries' internal factors such as economy
and national sentiment. Nevertheless the incident proves
advantageous to Russia who, during the crisis, signed two trade
agreements with Argentina selling her crops and military equipment.
Tsang Tak-sing : The British naval task force heading for the
Falklands constitutes two-thirds of the entire British naval
strength and is also part of the NATO naval force. Instead of
serving a defence purpose against Soviet attack, it is now deployed.
to the South Atlantic, thus leaving a highly vulnerable vacuum.
The impact of outbreak of war on Britain would be unpredictable
and should therefore be best avoided.
Liu Jia-ju : The Falklands crisis should be settled by peaceful
means, but the point is, negotiations have to be backed by real
/strength