Argentina threatens arbitration over Falklands Sea Lion oil project

Argentina has given the UK two weeks to stop work on the Sea Lion oil project near the Falkland Islands. The move sharpens the sovereignty battle as offshore production edges closer and political pressure rises.Stock photo used for illustrationBuenosaires,Sep 29, 2026 05:04 ISTArgentina has said it will seek international arbitration against the UK over an oil project near the disputed, UK-controlled Falkland Islands, stepping up a row over resources that could reshape the economy of the sparsely populated South Atlantic archipelago. President Javier Milei's office said the government had given the UK two weeks to stop work on Sea Lion, an offshore oilfield being developed by Israel's Navitas Petroleum and the UK's Rockhopper Exploration.If the work continues, Argentina said it would approach the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, a Hamburg-based maritime court, to seek a temporary halt to the project. In a statement, the presidency said, "Argentina will not stand idly by," and accused the UK of causing "irreversible and irreparable" harm to Argentina's sovereign rights.The tribunal, set up under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, can issue legally binding emergency orders. However, even if it asks the UK to stop the project, it has no way to force compliance. The UK rejects Argentina's sovereignty claim and says the islanders have the right to decide their own future and develop their natural resources. In a 2013 referendum, Falkland Islands residents voted overwhelmingly to remain a British overseas territory, while Argentina says the islands were populated illegally.Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno described Milei's move as "a historic and unprecedented step" in Argentina's nearly 200-year campaign to secure sovereignty over the archipelago. He wrote on X: "Whoever explores or exploits our natural resources in the Malvinas without Argentine authorisation must face the consequences," using Argentina's name for the islands. Milei, who describes himself as an "anarcho-capitalist", had initially sought warmer ties with Britain, drawing criticism from nationalist opponents for his conciliatory stance and his stated admiration for Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister who ordered the islands' recapture in 1982. The brief war began after Argentina's military dictatorship invaded the archipelago and left 649 Argentine troops, 255 British service personnel and three islanders dead. But Milei has adopted an increasingly confrontational position as oil production near the islands moves towards its expected start in 2028. US President Donald Trump, a close ally of Milei, has also suggested he could reconsider Washington's long-held neutrality in the dispute.Last week, Milei used a significant part of his UN General Assembly speech to press Argentina's sovereignty claim, accusing the international body of neglecting the conflict and calling the oil project an illegal exploitation of Argentine resources. He has threatened sanctions against the companies involved and sent Congress a bill proposing prison terms of up to 20 years for extracting resources around the islands without Argentine authorisation. The proposed law would also extend penalties to fishing, the mainstay of the islands' economy. Earlier this month, an Argentine judge also ordered a halt to work on Sea Lion pending an environmental review, though enforcement remains unlikely. Critics say Milei is using the sovereignty claim, one of the few issues that cuts across Argentina's political divide, to shore up public support before next year's presidential election as his approval ratings fall and the economy struggles. The latest move against the Sea Lion project brings the long-running Falklands dispute back into focus, with Argentina seeking legal action and the UK standing by the islanders' right to remain British and develop local resources.With PTI Inputs- Ends