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Argentine President Javier Milei has threatened legal action against the United Kingdom over an oil development project near the Falkland Islands, a British-administered territory Argentina claims.
Milei said on Monday that he had instructed Argentina’s Foreign Ministry and legal teams to begin arbitration proceedings over the Sea Lion project, which Israeli company Navitas and British firm Rockhopper are developing. The companies have maintained that they hold valid exploration licences issued by the UK.
The Sea Lion oil field is located about 220 kilometres from the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas.
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Milei said Argentina would take the case to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea if the UK did not halt what his government considers the unauthorised exploitation of the territory’s resources within two weeks.
“I instructed the Foreign Ministry and our legal teams to initiate arbitration proceedings against the United Kingdom for the illegal sacking of our resources through the Sea Lion Project in the North Falklands Basin,” Milei said.
“If within two weeks the United Kingdom does not stop the illegitimate exploitation, we will go to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,” the libertarian president continued.
Argentina has already taken legal action against the project, arguing that it violates a United Nations resolution urging both countries to refrain from unilateral actions in the islands while the sovereignty dispute remains unresolved.
The latest move comes as Buenos Aires has renewed its campaign for sovereignty over the Falklands after United States President Donald Trump said Washington was open to reconsidering its longstanding neutral position on the dispute.
The UK Government has defended companies operating near the islands, maintaining that they have the right to develop their natural resources.
Argentina and the UK fought a 10-week war over the Falklands in 1982. The conflict killed 255 British service members and 649 Argentines.
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Meanwhile, representatives from the Falkland Islands travelled to Punta Arenas in Chile on Monday to promote the reopening of a maritime route between the two ports.
Louise Ellis, deputy director of economic development in the Falklands, said the proposed shipping route was unrelated to the Sea Lion project. She said the route had been planned before the oil project and was intended to serve the needs of communities in the Falkland Islands.
The route is expected to begin operating later this year after being discontinued in the 2000s. It will mainly transport construction materials and fresh goods, including food and beverages.
