Argentine leader says oil companies working in the Falklands face sanctions

The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, has increased tensions with the United Kingdom over the Falklands, warning that he will impose economic sanctions on companies that exploit oil near the British overseas territory.

In a national address, Milei said the “winds of change” favored Argentina’s claim to the islands, emboldened by signs that the United States might reconsider its stance of neutrality on the issue.

Milei said the Sea Lion oil field, where a British and an Israeli company are due to begin exploration work, was a “clear and present danger”.

More than 40 years after the turf war, sovereignty of the archipelago in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean remains hotly contested between Britain and Argentina.

BBC News seeks comment from the UK government on Milei’s statement. He reiterated this week that Falkland Islanders “are British with the right to determine their own future.”

Milei announced his sanctions plan surrounded by his cabinet in the presidential palace, reiterating that the Malvinas were “historically and legally” Argentine.

At the crux of the matter was a proposal to introduce a bill to parliament to impose sanctions on energy companies planning to begin oil exploration off the Falklands.

Sea Lion Oil Field, About 130 miles from the islands, it contains approximately 1.7 billion barrels of oil.

Two oil companies, Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum, will begin exploration work in the Sea Lion oil field off the coast of the Falklands within two years, something Milei said Argentina could not allow.

“If we don’t act quickly in a few months, they will have the material ability to access the oil beneath our sea, something that has never happened before,” Milei said.

It is not yet clear how or to what extent sanctions will be imposed or toughened. In Argentina, a current law already allows restricting the activities of oil companies that participate in projects considered unauthorized on the islands.

In a 2013 referendum, the islands’ residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining a British Overseas Territory: 99.8% voted in favor and only three voted against.

When he asked in an interview with GB News earlier On Thursday, if the United States would “come to the aid of the United Kingdom” during a possible territorial dispute, Trump responded that Britain “had not been there to help me” in his country’s war against Iran.

Trump’s latest comments come after he previously said The United States could review its neutral position on the sovereignty of the islands if the United Kingdom does not increase defense spending.

Milei also announced plans for a naval base in Tierra del Fuego, southern Argentina, and said Trump and the United States were “evaluating their historical position with respect to the Malvinas,” which Argentina refers to as Las Malvinas.

“These are not empty words, since they understand that Argentina is a reliable partner and a valuable ally for the coming decades,” he said., describing the UK as a nation “in decline”.

“There are winds of change in the world that are favorable to our claim,” Milei added.

Hours before Milei’s speech, Sarah Rogers, a senior US State Department official, posted a photo of herself with Milei along with the caption: “Exciting things are happening in the Western Hemisphere.”

Argentine forces landed in the Falklands to claim territory in 1982, sparking a 74-day war over the territory when a British military task force expelled them.

The conflict caused the death of 255 British soldiers, three islanders and 649 Argentine soldiers.

In a sign of the current tensions between the two countries over the issue, Argentine players celebrated their victory over England in the World Cup. waving a banner in support of his country’s territorial claim.