Chile’s Kast and UK Talk Falklands and Trade

CHILE · UNITED KINGDOM · FALKLANDS

Chile’s conservative president, José Antonio Kast, spoke by phone with Britain’s prime minister, Andy Burnham, on Friday 23 October about defence, trade and the Falkland Islands, which Argentina claims as the Malvinas.

President José Antonio Kast of Chile and British Prime Minister Andy Burnham spoke by phone on Friday 23 October, and the UK government’s readout says they covered defence, trade and the Falkland Islands. Burnham, the Labour prime minister since Monday 20 July 2026, raised the islanders’ right of self-determination, while Chile has formally backed Argentina’s claim to the islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas.

For US readers the call matters because Chile sits next to the dispute: it formally backs Argentina’s claim, a Chilean shipping company plans a cargo route from Punta Arenas to the islands, and its government is now talking defence and trade with London. On the same Friday Burnham raised the Falklands with President Donald Trump, according to the UK readout of that call.

What the UK Says Was Discussed

The readout, published on gov.uk on Friday 23 October, says the leaders began by setting out shared ambitions to strengthen relations on defence, security, science and trade. It says they agreed that the UK and Chile need to work together to modernise defence capabilities.

On the Falklands, the readout says the prime minister raised the UK’s interest in ensuring that the islanders keep the ability to exercise the right of self-determination. It does not record Kast’s reply, and the Chilean outlets La Tercera and Radio Agricultura, which reported the call on Saturday 24 October, relied on the British statement.

The readout adds that the leaders discussed growing cultural, scientific and people-to-people links and the effect they have had on investment and infrastructure. It says they recognised “untapped trade opportunities” and “agreed on the need for closer trading”, and that both look forward to speaking again.

Burnham, a former mayor of Greater Manchester, became prime minister on Monday 20 July, the UK government says. Kast, a conservative, took office on Wednesday 11 March, and Argentina’s foreign ministry calls his April trip to Buenos Aires his first international journey as president.

Chile’s Position on the Falklands

Chile has long backed Argentina’s claim, and on Monday 6 April Kast repeated that support in Buenos Aires, according to a joint communiqué that Argentina’s foreign ministry published. It says Kast reiterated Chile’s support for Argentina’s “legitimate sovereignty rights” and for a resumption of talks between Argentina and Britain, and that President Javier Milei thanked him for Chile’s “traditional support”.

Chile’s defence minister, Fernando Barros, complicated that line in late September, when he told a Punta Arenas radio station that Chile backs the claim but that there is “a de facto situation”, with “a friendly country” exercising sovereignty for about 200 years, a phrase that Ámbito and Radio Polar both applied to Britain (our translation). Radio Polar reported on Monday 28 September, citing government sources, that the foreign ministry had made its view known to the presidential palace informally.

Then government spokesman Máximo Pavez replied that the president and the foreign minister set foreign policy, and Radio Polar added that he did not rule out a clarifying note on the islanders’ self-determination. Whether the Friday call changes anything is unclear, because the readout records only what Burnham raised.

Argentina’s foreign ministry says the United Nations Decolonization Committee renewed its call in June for Argentina and Britain to resume sovereignty negotiations. Britain’s argument rests instead on the islanders’ right to decide, which is why the readout’s wording matters.

Why the Call Comes Now

On Monday 19 October, after meeting British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband in London, Chile’s foreign minister, Francisco Pérez Mackenna, said it was time to raise relations to “a new level of strategic partnership”, Radio Polar and El Mostrador reported from a ministry statement. The minister listed critical minerals, investment, foreign trade and regional geopolitics among the topics.

British ambassador David Concar had visited Punta Arenas the week before, meeting the navy and regional officials to promote Antarctic science cooperation, El Mostrador reported. The minister’s trip came five weeks after ChileDay, when Chilean ministers met British officials and investors in London, the UK government says.

The Falklands Link and Argentina’s Bill

The Falklands sit beside all of this. A Chilean shipping company plans a monthly cargo route from Punta Arenas to Stanley, the islands’ capital, and Radio Polar’s reports give the first voyage as November or December.

Argentina’s foreign minister, Pablo Quirno, told broadcaster A24 that Argentina does not intend to stop the ship, though he did not rule out blocking it if it served the Sea Lion oil project, Radio Polar reported on Thursday 15 October. By Saturday 17 October Argentine opposition deputies had asked to summon Chile’s ambassador over the route, and Chilean lawmakers called that interference, Radio Polar reported.

The UK readout of Burnham’s call with Trump says the two discussed the Sea Lion project and what Britain calls Argentina’s “coercive measures”. The Rio Times has covered the US concern over Argentina’s Falklands bill, and Infobae reports that the government redefined the scope of the bill’s sanctions after US officials raised it.

Argentine committees are due to meet on Tuesday 27 October on the bill, Infobae reports, and the government hopes to take it to the floor on Wednesday 18 November. Infobae reported that Washington’s concern centres on penalties that could reach companies linked to the oil operators.

Trade and Defence Between the Two Countries

The UK government lists £2.28 billion (about US$3.05 billion) as total UK trade with Chile in 2025, under the association agreement that has applied since January 2021. Chile’s foreign ministry puts bilateral trade at US$1.196 billion for 2025, Radio Polar reported, citing Cooperativa, a figure the Rio Times could not reconcile with the British one, and pound amounts here convert at the 23 October close in house market data, US$1.3375 per pound sterling.

Chile’s ministry says it wants to combine the association agreement with the CPTPP, the Trans-Pacific trade pact that both countries belong to, and to attract British investment in technology and infrastructure, Radio Polar reported. At ChileDay in London, the UK government says, Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz met Latin America minister Chris Elmore and Public Works Minister Louis de Grange held discussions with UK Export Finance.

On defence, Chile’s navy already runs three Type 23 frigates that it bought from the Royal Navy, the Almirante Cochrane, the Almirante Condell and the Almirante Lynch, the Chilean Navy says. The readout names no equipment, and El Mostrador reported that Babcock International proposed in early October to build Arrowhead 140 frigates in Chile, a plan the Rio Times could not confirm.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket, where users bet real money, gives about 4.3% to the UK announcing a transfer of Falklands sovereignty to Argentina in 2026, as of 5:16 a.m. ET on Sunday 25 October. Only about US$27,300 has traded in total, so one trade can move the price, and the contract is about the islands, not about Chile.

The price jumped to a peak of about 4.95% on Thursday 22 October, the day US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau spoke in Buenos Aires about Argentina’s Falklands bill, and then settled between 4.2% and 4.35%. It showed no visible reaction when the call readout appeared at 2:42 p.m. ET on Friday 23 October, and these are bets, not polls.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What It Means for You

If you hold shares tied to Falklands oil or to companies exposed to Argentina, the call changes little for you. The legal risk comes from Argentina’s proposed sanctions law and the tribunal hearing on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November, not from Chile and Britain talking.

If you plan to travel in southern Chile, nothing in the readout touches flights, borders or entry rules, and the Punta Arenas link is a cargo route, not a passenger service. If you follow US policy in the region, note that Burnham raised the islands with both Trump and Kast on the same Friday, while US officials have told Argentina’s government that its bill worries American firms, Infobae reported.

If you work in shipping, defence or energy, the details to watch are the first sailing of the Punta Arenas ship and any Chilean equipment decision, because the readout announces neither. The Rio Times found no announced purchase, and the Babcock frigate offer is a company proposal that El Mostrador reported.

What Is Not Known

Chile’s own account of the call is the biggest gap, because the readout is British and Chilean outlets repeated it. The Rio Times could not find a Chilean government account, so Kast’s reply on the Falklands and on defence is unknown.

The date of the next conversation between the two leaders has not been given. The Argentine bill faces a committee meeting due on Tuesday 27 October, and the tribunal hearing follows on Tuesday 10 November.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the British prime minister who spoke to Kast?

Andy Burnham, who became prime minister on Monday 20 July 2026, the UK government says. He was mayor of Greater Manchester from 2017 and returned to Parliament as the member for Makerfield in June 2026.

Did Chile change its position on the Falklands?

Not publicly. A joint communiqué with Argentina on Monday 6 April backs Argentina’s claim, and the Rio Times could not find a Chilean statement on the call or on any change of line.

What did Britain ask of Chile on the Falklands?

The readout says Burnham raised the UK’s interest in ensuring the islanders can exercise the right of self-determination. It does not say he asked Chile to do anything or that Kast agreed.

What trade deal covers UK and Chilean trade?

The UK-Chile association agreement has applied since January 2021, and both countries also belong to the CPTPP, a Trans-Pacific trade pact. The UK government lists £2.28 billion (about US$3.05 billion) in total UK trade with Chile in 2025.

Will the Punta Arenas ship to the Falklands sail?

A Chilean shipping company plans a cargo route to Stanley, and Radio Polar’s reports give November or December for the first voyage. Argentina’s foreign minister said Argentina does not plan to stop it, but did not rule out blocking it if it served oil work.

What happens next in the Falklands dispute?

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea holds a public hearing on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November on Argentina’s request against Britain over Falklands oil. Argentine committees are due to meet on Tuesday 27 October on the Falklands bill.

Sources: UK government, PM call with President Kast of Chile, 23 October 2026, UK government, PM call with President Trump, 23 October 2026, UK government, Andy Burnham biography, UK government, Ed Miliband biography, UK government, ChileDay London 2026, UK government, UK trade agreements in effect, UK government, Trade with Chile, Argentine foreign ministry, joint communiqué of the foreign ministers of Chile and Argentina, 6 April 2026, Argentine foreign ministry, UN Decolonization Committee resolution, June 2026, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Case No. 37, Chilean Navy, frigate Almirante Condell, Chilean Navy, frigate Almirante Cochrane, Chilean Navy, frigate Almirante Lynch, La Tercera, Kast call with the British prime minister, 24 October 2026, Radio Agricultura, Kast and the British prime minister, 24 October 2026, Ámbito, Chilean defence minister on the Falklands, 27 September 2026, Radio Polar, Barros remarks and the foreign ministry, 28 September 2026, Radio Polar, Chile and the UK agree a new level of strategic partnership, 20 October 2026, Radio Polar, Argentine foreign minister on the Chilean ship, 15 October 2026, Radio Polar, Magallanes governor on the monthly route, 30 September 2026, Radio Polar, Chilean lawmakers and the Argentine request on the ambassador, 22 October 2026, El Mostrador, Antarctica in the growing Chile-UK closeness, 21 October 2026, Infobae, Milei receives Landau, 23 October 2026, Infobae, the Malvinas bill and planned changes, 25 October 2026, Navitas Petroleum, Sea Lion field, Polymarket, public market data for the Falklands transfer contract, pulled 2026-10-25 09:16 UTC. Pound conversion: house market data, close of 23 October 2026. All retrieved 25 October 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief