Argentina’s President Javier Milei has escalated his country’s claim over the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory, warning he will place economic pressure by sanctioning oil companies with operations in the area. The Falkland Islands are "Argentine, by history and by right, there is no debate about it,” he said in a nationally televised address Thursday evening. Milei argued the “winds of change blowing around the world” are favorable to Argentina’s long-claimed sovereignty over the South Atlantic archipelago, citing remarks made by his ally, U.S.
President Donald Trump, who recently suggested the U.S. would be reviewing its neutrality on the dispute. The Argentine President flagged a planned oil project in the area as a cause for concern. Within the next 18 months, two companies—one British and the other Israeli—are set to start extractions from the Sea Lion oilfield, which lies north of the islands and holds an estimated 1.7 billion barrels of oil.
Milei described the project as an urgent threat to Argentina’s sovereignty. "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 Falkland Islands, known in Argentina as “Islas Malvinas,” sit roughly 300 miles from the Argentine coast, and have been a British territory for almost two centuries, but Argentina has never accepted British sovereignty over the area.
Vowing to take action, Milei said he plans to send a bill to Congress to strengthen Argentina’s response to what he views as attacks on its sovereignty. Responding to the economic threats, the U.K. government reasserted its “unshakeable” commitment to the archipelago on Friday, with British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting insisting: “Milei’s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands.” “The U.K. supports the right of the Falkland Islanders to develop their natural resources for their own economic benefit, and this is an integral part of their right to self-determination,” a spokesperson for Prime Minister Andy Burnham told TIME. The Falklands' defense and foreign policy is handled by the U.K., but otherwise it has an internal government of its own.
The territory has its own constitution and as of 1983, residents of the islands have been British citizens. In a 2013 referendum, Falkland residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining under British rule. The referendum saw 92% of all eligible voters turn out, with 99.8% of votes being “yes.” “The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British,” Streeting said Friday, pointing to the will of the voters.
The first recorded landing on the island was made in 1690 by English naval captain John Strong. Britain took possession of West Falkland in 1765. France and Spain each had settlements on the islands at different times, but Britain re-established control in 1833 and has since administered the islands.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
