Falkland Islands British military garrison is stationed on the islands, and the Falkland Islands government funds an additional company-sized light infantry Falkland Islands Defence Force. The Falklands claim an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extending from its coastal baselines, based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; this zone overlaps with the EEZ of Argentina. The United Kingdom and Argentina both claim the Falkland Islands. The UK bases its position on its continuous administration of the islands since 1833 and the islanders' "right to self-determination as set out in the UN Charter". Argentina's position is that it acquired the
Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute in the Falklands War. France was the first country to establish de facto control in the Falkland Islands, with the foundation of Port Saint Louis in East Falkland by French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville, in 1764. The French colony consisted of a small fort and some settlements with a population of around 250. The Islands were named after the Breton port of St. Malo as the "Îles Malouines", which remains the French name for the islands. In 1766, France agreed to leave the islands to Spain, with Spain reimbursing de Bougainville and the St. Malo Company for the cost