Argentina’s firebrand President has vowed to impose sanctions on off-shore drilling off the Falkland Islands.
In an uncharacteristically muted televised address on Wednesday night, Javier Milei reiterated the country’s claim on the Islands and said he would introduce sanctions on any oil companies working in the area ‘under the British occupation’.
The President insisted: ‘The Falklands are Argentinean. Historically and legally. There can be no argument. They are part of the Argentine territory.
‘The islanders on their usurped territory do not have a legitimate right to self-determination and any argument on any such self-determination is invalid.’
Milei said the Sea Lion oilfield, which is owned by an Israeli and a British firm and where production is expected to begin in 2028, was a ‘clear and present danger’.
‘If we do not act swiftly in a few months, they will have the material capacity to access the oil that lies underneath our sea. Something that has never happened before,’ he said.
The President insisted the Falklands is ‘facing a new fear’ and claimed the UK has ‘failed to heed’ the call of the United Nations to not undertake ‘unilateral actions’ on the territory.
In a televised address on Thursday night, Argentina’s President Javier Milei reiterated the country’s claim on the Falkland Islands
Milei said: ‘For more than 50 years, the United Nations have been calling Argentina and the United Kingdom not to undertake unilateral actions on the territory of the islands until the dispute is resolved, including the use of its national resources.
‘However, the United Kingdom has systematically failed to heed that call.’
And announcing plans for a naval base in Tierre del Fuego in the south of Argentina, he said Mr Trump and the US was ‘assessing their historical position in regard to the Falklands’.
‘That is not empty words as they understand that Argentina is a reliable partner and a valuable ally for decades to come,’ he said
‘Our role and relevance as a country in the world has changed dramatically.
‘The Falklands are our future – we need to recover these islands which are nationally relevant. There is no other path forward.’
He was speaking after Donald Trump hinted he would not back Britain if Argentina invaded the Islands again.
The US president on Thursday jibed that the UK ‘isn’t doing well’ and had failed to ‘help’ with the military campaign against Iran.
The US has traditionally taken a neutral position regarding the Falklands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas.
But Mr Trump recently suggested that the stance is being reviewed, in what many regard as a pressure tactic to get more UK military cooperation.
Asked in an interview with GB News whether he would ‘come to the aid’ of the UK in the event of another invasion, Mr Trump said he clearly remembered the 1982 conflict.
‘I was there when they had the first war, that was a long time ago… you comported yourself very well, took it back very shortly. But it is a long way away,’ he said.
‘So, your country’s not doing well. Don’t forget you get a big percentage of your oil from the Strait of Hormuz and you weren’t there to help me.
‘Your country was not there to help me.’
The US has historically taken a neutral position on the Falklands, but Trump (pictured in 2025 with Milei) has hinted that could change
Sarah Rogers, a senior official in the US State Department, wrote on X that ‘exciting things are happening in the Western Hemisphere’ alongside a photo of her and Mr Milei ahead of his speech.
Downing Street said earlier this week that the UK’s position on the Falklands was ‘long-standing and unwavering’.
‘Sovereignty rests with the UK, and the islanders’ right to self-determination is paramount.
‘The UK’s position is clear. The islanders have repeatedly expressed their wish to remain a British overseas territory.’
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