Argentina's President Javier Milei has threatened to launch a legal challenge against the British government unless oil exploration work off the coast of the Falkland Islands is halted. President Milei issued a two-week deadline for the Sea Lion oilfield project to be scrapped, according to a social media post.
The Sea Lion oilfield project is a joint venture involving Israeli and British companies, which maintain they possess valid licences issued by Britain. President Milei stated that if the deadline is not met, he has instructed the Foreign Ministry and legal teams to initiate international arbitration against the UK, citing what he called "the illegal plundering of our resources through the Sea Lion Project."
He further warned that if the "illegitimate exploitation" of the region does not cease within two weeks, Argentina would refer the matter to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. This independent judicial body, based in Hamburg, is responsible for the fair application of the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The move follows President Milei's recent criticism of the UN at the General Assembly for its perceived inaction regarding the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, which Argentina refers to as Las Malvinas. The UK Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, has since stated that Argentina "lacks the ability" to reclaim the Falklands by force.