Argentina takes fight with UK over Falklands’ oil industry to international tribunal

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina said Tuesday it had asked an international maritime tribunal to halt oil development off the disputed Falkland Islands, escalating its confrontation with the United Kingdom over the archipelago’s first commercial oil project.

The office of President Javier Milei said it had filed a request for provisional measures with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany, seeking to stop the development of Sea Lion, a $2.2-billion Israeli-British oil project north of the islands, to “preserve Argentina’s sovereign rights.”

The British-controlled Falklands are an enduring national obsession in Argentina, which calls them the Malvinas and maintains that Britain has illegally occupied them since 1833. London rejects that claim, citing the islanders’ desire to remain a British overseas territory.

Responding to Argentina’s request for a tribunal order on Tuesday, U.K. Foreign Office Minister Uma Kumaran said Argentina was attempting to use “measures beyond its jurisdiction” as a form of economic coercion.

“The Sea Lion field lies on the Falkland Islands’ continental shelf. The project is lawful and regulated by the democratically elected Falkland Islands government. Argentina has no jurisdiction over it,” she said Tuesday in the House of Commons. “Let me be absolutely clear: This government will not stand by while Argentina uses economic coercion against the people of the Falkland Islands. We will do whatever it takes to support them.”

Argentina’s military dictatorship invaded the archipelago in 1982 in an attempt to seize the territory from the U.K. The brutal 10-week war ended with Argentine surrender and left 649 Argentine troops, 255 British personnel and three islanders dead.

The latest dispute centers on the Sea Lion project, an offshore oilfield about 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of the islands that could transform the small, fishing-dependent economy. After years of delays and disruptions, the developers, Israel’s Navitas Petroleum and Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration, expect to start production in 2028.

In recent weeks, Milei has ramped up his country’s claim to the Falklands, declaring the islands’ nascent oil industry a threat to Argentina’s sovereignty and a bid to steal its natural resources.

He has launched criminal charges against the executives and shareholders of the Sea Lion project and proposed legislation to toughen and expand sanctions against companies and suppliers exploiting the islands’ resources without Argentine authorization. Analysts say Milei is tapping into a cause with broad political support to shore up his popularity as the economy sputters ahead of next year’s presidential election.

Britain has defended the islanders’ right to develop their natural resources and pledged support for companies operating there.

The Hamburg-based tribunal is an independent international court established under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea to settle disputes over maritime rights. Its rulings are legally binding, but it has no way to enforce them if a country refuses to comply.