The Argentine government has asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to order provisional measures to halt oil drilling in the maritime area near the Malvinas Islands.
ITLOS is an independent judicial body established under the United Nations (UN) in 1982. It has jurisdiction over disputes concerning the interpretation or application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The move is part of the sanctions and other measures announced by President Javier Milei in early September against the companies leading the Sea Lion offshore oil project in the Malvinas North Basin: British firm Rockhopper Exploration and its Israeli partner Navitas Petroleum, as well as their associates or shareholders.
Drilling is scheduled to begin in early 2027.
The project was approved by the islands’ government and backed by the United Kingdom. Argentina maintains that the companies plan to drill for and extract oil in an area north of the Malvinas, which Argentina claims sovereignty over as part of its continental shelf.
In addition to imposing several sanctions on the companies involved, the Argentine government gave the U.K. two weeks to order a halt to the project. The deadline expired on Monday without the British government taking any action.
Argentina’s arguments
The request filed with ITLOS “seeks to preserve the Argentine sovereign rights over its continental platform and prevent activities unilaterally and illegally authorized by the United Kingdom to deepen the controversy acknowledged by the United Nations,” an official statement said, referring to the sovereignty dispute between the two countries over the islands.
“The Argentine Republic reaffirms, once again, its legitimate and inalienable sovereign rights over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia, and the South Sandwich Islands, as well as the surrounding maritime areas,” the communiqué said.
According to the document, the filing is part of an arbitration process initiated by the Argentine government on September 28 under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to “defend its sovereignty and the natural resources of all Argentines.”
That day, Milei instructed the Argentine Foreign Ministry to begin arbitration proceedings in line with the UN’s Convention on the Law of the Sea and demanded that the UK prevent the start or continuation of hydrocarbon development at Sea Lion.
At the time, the Argentine government warned that it would ask the ITLOS to order provisional measures if the U.K. failed to respond.
The U.K. rejected Argentina’s decision, saying it “raised questions” about the country’s “reliability as a partner for the United Kingdom” and that they would “robustly defend” the islanders’ wishes.
On Monday, U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham told the House of Commons that he would “do whatever it takes” to uphold the “clear and declared will of the islanders to remain British.”
More sanctions
On Wednesday, a commission in Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies will discuss a project filed by the government called “Law for the defense of national sovereignty,” which aims to toughen sanctions against companies illegally extracting natural resources from the Argentine continental platform, including the area surrounding the Malvinas.
The opposition is wary of the provision because it also includes controversial reforms to national defense, security and intelligence.
The proposal includes strengthening the country’s defense against potential external attacks by creating a National Security System led by a National Security Council, which would be headed by the president and include ministers and the head of Argentina’s intelligence agency.
Editorial disclaimer: Although the UK refers to the Malvinas territory as the “Falklands Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald refers to the islands as the Malvinas Islands.
La entrada Argentina asks UN court to halt Malvinas oil drilling se publicó primero en Buenos Aires Herald.