BUENOS AIRES — Argentine President Javier Milei has escalated tensions with the UK over the Falkland Islands, warning he will impose economic sanctions on oil companies drilling in the British overseas territory claimed by Argentina.
Milei’s comments in a televised national address on Thursday came days after US President Donald Trump said he was reviewing Washington’s neutral position on the remote archipelago in the South Atlantic.
Milei said the “winds of change” favored Argentina’s claim to the islands, emboldened by signs the US might reconsider its stance of neutrality on the issue.
Sovereignty of the archipelago in the southwest Atlantic Ocean remains hotly disputed between Britain and Argentina.
The prospect of two oil firms carrying out exploration in the islands, which Argentina calls Las Malvinas, was an urgent threat to Argentine interests, Milei said, 44 years after his country was defeated by Britain in a war over the islands.
Milei said he was sending Congress a bill aimed at strengthening Argentina’s response to what he called violations of its sovereignty.
Milei said the Sea Lion oilfield, where a British and an Israeli firm are due to begin exploration work, was a “clear and present danger”.
In a statement on Friday, Downing Street said it was “clear that the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination extends to the right to exploit their own natural resources”.
Milei announced his sanctions plan surrounded by his cabinet at the presidential palace, reiterating that the Falklands were “historically and legally” Argentine.
It is not yet clear how or to what extent the sanctions will be imposed or tightened.
Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said Britain’s commitment to the Falkland Islands is “absolute and unshakeable”.
“Milei’s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands”, he said on X.
On Friday, Downing Street also reaffirmed its position that the islands would remain a British Overseas Territory “for as long as the Islanders wish”.
“This is not the first time Argentine governments have made economic threats against the islanders. We are clear that the Falkland Islanders’ right of self-determination extends to the right to exploit their own natural resources.”
In a 2013 referendum, residents of the islands voted overwhelmingly to remain a British overseas territory, with 99.8% voting in favour and just three voting against.
Teslyn Barkman, a former member of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly, told the BBC that Milei’s speech had “probably irked every single Falkland islander”.
Speaking from the capital Stanley, she added that “we have a burgeoning economy for a small place… we will remain forever British”.
The Sea Lion oilfield, around 130 miles from the islands, contains an estimated 1.7 billion barrels of oil. In comparison, the Rosebank oil field 80 miles west of the Shetland islands in the North Sea, contains an estimated 300 million barrels.
Two oil companies – Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum – are due to begin extracting oil in the Sea Lion oilfield off the Falklands coast within two years, something Milei said Argentina could not allow.
“If we do not act swiftly in a few months, they will have the material capacity to access the oil that lies underneath our sea – something that has never happened before,” Milei said.
Milei needs to shore up votes amid his plummeting popularity, currently languishing at around 34%. There is only a year to go before he faces a presidential election and a serious challenge from his erstwhile vice-president, Victoria Villarruel.
A pro-military politician, she has criticized his diplomatic efforts to secure change on the question of Falklands sovereignty. The sanctions may be part of a wider attempt to stave off accusations that he’s weak on an issue which is so fundamental to Argentine identity.
Milei also announced plans for a naval base in Tierra del Fuego in the south of Argentina, saying Trump and the US were “assessing their historical position in regard to the Falklands”.
“That is not empty words as they understand that Argentina is a reliable partner and a valuable ally for decades to come,” he said, describing the UK as a nation “in decline”.
When asked in an interview earlier on Thursday if the US would “come to the UK’s aid” during a potential territorial dispute, Trump replied that Britain had “not been there to help me” with his country’s war with Iran.
Trump’s latest remarks come after he previously said the US position on the Falklands is one of many under review.
Hours before Milei’s speech, Sarah Rogers, a senior official in the US State Department, posted a photo of herself with Milei alongside the caption: “Exciting things are happening in the Western Hemisphere.”
Argentine forces landed on the Falklands to stake a territorial claim in 1982, sparking a 74-day war over the territory as a British military task force ejected them.
The conflict led to the deaths of 255 British military personnel, three islanders and 649 Argentine military personnel.
Source: Saudi Gazette