Argentina's President Milei threatens sanctions on Falkland Islands oil projects

Argentine President Javier Milei says he will sanction oil companies drilling in the Falkland Islands, the British overseas territory claimed by Argentina.

Mr Milei's comments come days after US President Donald Trump said he was reviewing the United States' neutral position on the remote archipelago in the South Atlantic.

It is 44 years since Argentina was defeated by Britain in a war over the islands that killed hundreds, but its sovereignty claim is still enshrined in the constitution and frequently invoked as an expression of national identity.

Now years after a deadly war and unresolved sovereignty claims, tensions are once again escalating.

Argentina's President Javier Milei delivered a national address on Thursday, local time, and said the "winds of change" favoured his country's claim to the archipelago, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.

He then announced sweeping actions aimed at stopping the development of the deep-sea Sea Lion oil project about 220 kilometres north of the islands.

British company Rockhopper Exploration and Israel's Navitas Petroleum plan to begin drilling in the coming months and start pumping oil in 2028. Argentina considers the project an illegal exploitation of resources in waters it claims as its own.

The companies said in a statement: "The partnership believes that the recent developments are not expected to have a material effect on the development activities of the Sea Lion Project, including the timetable for completion of the Project's development."

The Argentine leader threatened tougher sanctions against companies involved in the offshore drilling.

He also announced new funding for a naval base in Argentina's southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego to bolster the country's military presence near the islands.

"Argentina will not stand idly by," Mr Milei said.

Argentina maintains that it inherited sovereignty over the islands from its former coloniser, Spain, and that Britain has illegally occupied them since 1833.

Britain rejects that claim, citing the islanders' desire to remain a British overseas territory.

For decades, successive US administrations have remained neutral on the competing claims while recognising Britain's de facto administration of the islands.

On Monday, Donald Trump stirred concern in Britain when asked whether his administration was reviewing its stance on the decades-old dispute.

"I always review every position," he replied.

"That's just one of many."

Then, in an interview aired Thursday with British broadcaster GB News, Mr Trump dodged directly answering a question about whether the US would "come to the aid" of Britain in another conflict over the Falklands.

Instead, he repeated past complaints that Britain had not provided sufficient support for the US-led bombing campaign against Iran.

"Your country was not there to help me," Mr Trump said, recalling Britain's former prime minister, Keir Starmer, telling him the country did not have ships to contribute to the campaign.

"It was pretty sad, the whole thing."

Mr Milei presented Washington's review of its stance as a vindication of his policies and full-throated support for the Trump administration.

"The United States is considering this change of position because it knows that Argentina has a reliable partner," he said.

Britain, by contrast, is "on a path of decline", he said, alleging it faced "multiple migratory, demographic, and economic crises".

Britain, which has controlled the islands since 1833, has said that Falkland islanders should determine their own future.

British defence secretary Wes Streeting said on Friday, local time, that the people living there had chosen to be British.

"Milei's statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands," Mr Streeting said on X.

"Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unshakeable."

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband also said on X, the UK's position on the Falkland Islands is unwavering.

"The Islands are British and will remain so because that is the overwhelming position of the Islanders," he said.

"Their right of self-determination is paramount, grounded in international law and we will resolutely uphold it."

In a 2013 referendum, 99.8 per cent of voters backed remaining under British rule, on a turnout of about 92 per cent. Britain cites the vote as evidence of the islanders' wishes and says it will not discuss sovereignty without their consent.

Argentina rejected the referendum.