Argentina's interior minister rejects David Cameron's accusations as 'totally offensive' Reuters

Britain and Argentina have revived the rhetoric of the 1980s after David Cameron accused Buenos Aires of adopting a colonial attitude towards the Falkland Islands.

Amid growing tensions ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Argentinian invasion, the prime minister said he called a meeting of Britain's national security council (NSC) on Tuesday, mainly to discuss the islands.

Afterwards, William Hague, the foreign secretary, flew off of a pre-arranged visit to Brazil to raise Britain's concerns over Argentina.

Britain is prepared to increase its military presence in the South Atlantic if Argentina embarks on further provocative measures, though this is seen as highly unlikely.

The latest row erupted as the prime minister threw Argentina's rhetoric back at Buenos Aires which refers to the Falkland Islands as Las Malvinas. Telling MPs that he convened a meeting of the NSC on the Falklands to ensure "our defences and everything else are in order", he said: "The key point is that we support the Falkland islanders' right to self-determination. I would argue that what the Argentinians have said recently is far more like colonialism, as these people want to remain British and the Argentinians want them to do something else."

But the Argentine government was quick to hit back at Cameron. Florencio Randazzo, the interior minister, said: "It's totally offensive."

Hector Timerman, the foreign minister, described Britain as "a synonym for colonialism." He was quoted by Reuters as saying: "Evidently at a time when only scraps of colonialism linger, Great Britain … has decided to rewrite history."

Hague received a frosty reception when he raised Britain's concerns with the Brazilian government. Antonio Patriota, the Brazilian foreign minister, said he would support the Argentinian call for Mercosur nations – Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – to turn away vessels flying Falkland Island flags. "Minister Hague knows that Brazil … supports the sovereignty of Argentina over the Malvinas and we support the United Nations resolution that calls for discussion about the issue with Argentina," Patriota said.

Buenos Aires recently persuaded Mercosur members to close their ports to ships flying the Falkland Islands flag. Argentina has also been highly critical of the decision to deploy the Duke of Cambridge to the Falklands for six weeks in his role as a search and rescue helicopter pilot. The Ministry of Defence said the deployment was standard practice.

Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands in April 1982 after Britain lowered its military strength in the South Atlantic in the wake of defence cuts introduced by Margaret Thatcher's newly elected government.

Ministers at Tuesday's meeting of the NSC made clear they were prepared to increase the British military presence in the South Atlantic. However, no move is imminent.

The Foreign Office, which is concerned about the tough language from Buenos Aires in recent months, believes that Britain's military presence on the Falkland Islands will deter Argentina. "There is a lot of shadow boxing," said one source who pointed out that Falkland Islands ships had no problem docking in Mercosur ports because they fly the Red Ensign.

The prime minister later reiterated his message at a press conference with Mario Monti, the Italian prime minister. "The reason for holding a national security council – which also discussed other topics – is to discuss that issue, is to make sure nobody is in any doubt that Britain supports that right of self-determination, and we will go on doing so for as long as people in the Falklands want to continue in that way," he said.