The UK’s decision to give up sovereignty of the Chago Islands to Mauritius raises serious questions as to the future of other disputed overseas British territories – most notably, the Falkland Islands.

It was announced today that Foreign Secretary David Lammy had agreed to hand over control of the Chagos, an archipelago of more than 60 islands in the Indian Ocean, in exchange for securing the future use of a strategically important UK-US military base at Diego Garcia.

Tensions over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands have risen recently, with Argentina’s President Javier Milei this year suggesting that his government was developing a “roadmap” towards gaining control of the islands.

The control of the islands remained an emotive topic for Brits for decades after the 1982 war to reclaim the territory cost 255 British soldiers their lives.

However, data from a YouGov poll suggests that a staggering 46 percent of people surveyed said that they would not be bothered if the UK relinquished control of the archipelago.

Shortly after news about Chagos emerged, the pollster shared data it gathered last year from a wide-ranging survey including among other topics the sovereignty of the Falklands.

Out of the 2034 GB adults interviewed by YouGov between April and May last year, 35 percent of respondents said they would be upset by any decision to hand the archipelago to Argentina.

Shockingly, 9 percent of those asked how they would feel if the Falklands were to be given to Argentina, claimed that not only would they not be bothered, they would in fact be “pleased.”

The poll also asked a secondary question of whether the islands should be a British Overseas Territory or Argentinian, with only 16 percent in favour of sovereignty being relinquished compared to 52 percent who believed they should stay British.

In another question, 81 percent of respondents said that the islands should either stay British or be left to the inhabitants to decide.

A 2013 referendum on the sovereignty of the islands carried out on the Falklands saw 1,513 of 1,517 voters state that they wished to remain part of the UK.

For all the Argentinian rhetoric surrounding roadmaps to reclaim the territory, the country has little military leverage to do so.

Investment in their armed forces has declined in recent decades, with the military receiving less than 1 percent of GDP for each of the last 20 years.

Conversely, defence of the island has increased significantly in the wake of Argentina’s 1982 invasion, making it unlikely that the Argentines would be able to pose any credible threat to taking possession by force.