Argentina threatens to sue Britain over oil exploration in the Falkland Islands

In the dispute over the Falkland Islands, the Argentine government has called on Great Britain to abandon its oil exploration plans near the archipelago within two weeks. Otherwise, the South American country will appeal to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, wrote Argentina's President Javier Milei on Platform X.

The reason for Milei's ultimatum is the Sea Lion project, which is being pushed forward by two companies from Great Britain and Israel and which aims to produce offshore oil around 220 kilometers north of the Falkland Islands. Milei sees the one-sided exploitation of the Falkland Islands' natural resources under British license as a violation of UN resolutions and international law. Argentina will not stand idly by, but will resolutely defend its sovereign rights, said Milei.

Argentina also announced legal action against the company Thales UK Limited, which, according to the Argentine government, was operating “illegal flights” between Punta Arenas in southern Chile and the Falkland Islands. These were carried out by an aircraft with a British registration and without authorization from the Argentine authorities.

Great Britain wants to “defend” the archipelago

British Defense Minister Wes Streeting had previously fueled the conflict between the two countries in the daily newspaper The Sun. »We are no longer in 1982. The Argentines are unable to take the Falkland Islands. We, on the other hand, are able to defend them,” Streeting told the newspaper.

Conversely, in July, after their World Cup semi-final victory over England, players from the Argentine national football team held up a banner with the inscription “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (German: “The Falkland Islands are Argentine”). The British government then called on FIFA to investigate.