Milei sets two-week deadline for UK to halt Falklands oil work
Argentina says it will seek an emergency order from an international maritime tribunal if work on the Sea Lion project near the disputed islands continues.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei has given the United Kingdom two weeks to halt work on the Sea Lion oil project near the Falkland Islands, warning that Argentina will seek an order to stop it from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
The ultimatum, issued on Monday evening, concerns a project being developed by Navitas and Rockhopper. The companies say they hold valid exploration licences issued by the UK, which administers the islands and rejects Argentina’s sovereignty claim.
The tribunal can issue legally binding emergency orders, but has no means to force compliance. The material reports a threatened application, not that Argentina has filed one or that the tribunal has acted.
The sovereignty dispute remains unresolved. Argentina and the UK fought a war over the islands in 1982; the UK says islanders have the right to determine their future and develop local resources.
