ON MARCH 9th, as journalists and observers landed at the Royal Air Force base that doubles as the Falkland Islands' only international airport, they were greeted by the word YES spelt out in Land Rovers. The result of a referendum on the islanders' political allegiance held over the following two days was no less emphatic. In answer to the question, "Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?", all but three of the 1,517 valid votes—a turnout of 92%—were a "Yes" (with one unaccounted for). When the result was announced in Stanley, the capital—which was plastered with union flags crossed with the words "British to the core"—crowds toasted "Her Majesty and the Falklands" and sang "Rule Britannia".

Ensuring that every eligible resident of the sparsely populated islands, which lack paved roads, could vote required careful planning. Six mobile teams and flights to outer islands supplemented four fixed polling stations. Observers from six countries (four in Latin America) oversaw the vote and declared it free and fair.

Their blessing counts for little in Argentina, which lies just 500km (300 miles) west of the archipelago and has steadfastly maintained its claim to them since its failed invasion of 1982. One of the few points on which the country's divided politicians agree is its claim to the islands. A poll just before the vote found that only 9% of Argentines thought the Falklanders should decide who controls the territory, and 59% that they should have no say in the matter.

Argentina's president, Cristina Fernández, often uses the islands to change the subject from her country's economic problems. She called the vote a "parody" and likening the result to "a group of squatters deciding whether to continue occupying a building". "We respect that [the islanders] want to stay being British," said Alicia Castro, Argentina's ambassador to Britain. "But the territory they inhabit is not."

Most other South American countries back Argentina's claim of sovereignty. Earlier this year Brazil's foreign minister reiterated his country's support for Argentina, citing resolutions of regional bodies such as the Mercosur trade block. At Argentina's insistence, in 2011 the group stopped accepting ships carrying the Falklands flag in any of its members' ports—a restriction that could become increasingly burdensome if the islands develop a commercially viable offshore oil industry. And Uruguay's defence minister called the presence of an opposition legislator from his country among the referendum's independent observers a "huge disgrace".

Few Falklanders expected the vote to change the minds of those determined to ignore them. Instead, they hope to encourage fence-sitters further afield to consider choosing their side. The United States has encouraged the two countries to negotiate over the islands—which Britain refuses to do, saying that the Falklands' fate must be determined by their residents. Now, says Nigel Haywood, a British diplomat appointed as the Falklands' governor, islanders can ask why anyone would "support an attempt by Argentina to annex the country against the clearly expressed wishes of its inhabitants".