Zone of total prohibition

Zone of total prohibition as of April 30, 1982

Total Exclusion Zone (TEZ) - A restricted area declared by the United Kingdom on April 30, 1982, covering a circle with a diameter of 200 nautical miles (370 km) around the Falkland Islands . ^[1] During the Falkland War, any ship or aircraft of any country entering the zone could be attacked without prior warning.

The prohibition zone was an extension of the Maritime Exclusion Zone (MEZ), announced on April 12, 1982 ^[2] in the same territory. Any Argentine ship or auxiliary military ship that entered MEZ could be attacked by British nuclear submarines. On April 23, the British government, in a message to the Government of Argentina, which was transmitted through the Swiss Embassy in Buenos Aires, specified that any Argentine ship or aircraft that could pose a threat to the British troops would be attacked:

In announcing the establishment of a marine exclusion zone around the Falkland Islands, Her Majesty's Government made it clear that this measure does not prejudice the right of the United Kingdom to take any additional measures that may be required in the exercise of its right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations. In this regard, Her Majesty’s Government wants to make it clear that any approach by Argentine warships, including submarines, naval aids or military aircraft, which could pose a threat to the mission of the British forces in the South Atlantic, will cause an appropriate response. All Argentinean aircraft, including civilian aircraft monitoring these British forces, will be considered hostile .

The term civilian aircraft hints, in particular, but not only, on the Boeing 707 of the Argentine Air Force, before that it was spotted by the British task force on its way to the south and was somewhat intercepted by the Harriers.

When the cruiser General Belgrano was sunk on May 2, 1982, he was out of the Zone. This led to widespread debate over whether the attack was legal. However, exclusion zones have historically been declared in favor of neutral courts; during the war, according to international law, the direction of movement and the location of the warship of the belligerent does not affect its status. Furthermore, the captain of Belgrano , Hector Bonzo, testifies that the attack was legitimate ^[3] (as did the Argentinean government in 1994). ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}

Interviews by Martin Middlebrook for his book, “Fighting for the Malvinas Islands,” indicate that Argentine naval officers understood that the purpose of the message was to indicate that any ship operating near the exclusion zone could be attacked. Argentine Rear Admiral Allara, who led the task force, which included Belgrano , said: “After this announcement of April 23, the entire South Atlantic became a theater of war for both sides. We, as professionals, said that it’s bad that we lost Belgrano . ”

On May 7, 1982, TEZ was extended to 12 nautical miles (22 km) off the coast of Argentina, ^[8] which meant that any Argentine vessel or plane anywhere in the world could be attacked.