Argentina Gives UK Two Weeks to Stop Falklands Oil Project or Face Court

Argentina's President Javier Milei announced on Monday that he has instructed his government's legal and foreign ministry teams to pursue international arbitration against the United Kingdom unless oil exploration work on the Sea Lion oilfield ceases within two weeks. The Sea Lion project, operated by Israeli firm Navitas Petroleum and UK-based Rockhopper Exploration in waters approximately 130 miles from the Falkland Islands, is estimated to contain 1.7 billion barrels of oil and is scheduled to begin extraction around 2028.

Milei has declared the project an "illegal plundering" of Argentine resources and threatened to bring the matter before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, a Hamburg-based maritime court established under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. If the tribunal orders a halt to the project, it could issue legally binding emergency orders, though enforcement mechanisms remain limited. Argentina's Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno characterized the move as "a historic and unprecedented step" in Argentina's nearly two-century campaign to assert sovereignty over the archipelago, known locally as Las Malvinas.

The UK has rejected Argentina's sovereignty claims, stating that Falkland Islanders have the right to self-determination and to develop their natural resources. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8 percent of island residents voted to remain a British overseas territory. Both Rockhopper Exploration and Navitas Petroleum have stated they hold valid licenses issued by the Falkland Islands authorities. Argentina contends the islands were settled illegally under British rule.

Milei has escalated rhetoric around the dispute in recent weeks. Last week, he devoted substantial portions of his UN General Assembly speech to Argentina's sovereignty claim, calling the international body a "useless organisation." He has also submitted legislation to Congress proposing prison sentences of up to 20 years for extracting resources from the islands without Argentine authorization, extending penalties to fishing operations. An Argentine judge this month ordered a temporary halt to Sea Lion work pending environmental review, though enforcement is considered unlikely.

Milei, who initially pursued warmer ties with Britain and has expressed admiration for former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, has shifted to an increasingly confrontational stance as oil production nears. US President Donald Trump, a close political ally of Milei, has suggested he may reconsider Washington's longstanding neutrality in the dispute. The 1982 war between Argentina and the UK over the islands resulted in 649 Argentine military deaths, 255 British military deaths, and 3 islander deaths.