Argentina
Argentina opened arbitration against the United Kingdom over the Sea Lion project in the Falklands
The government gave London two weeks to halt hydrocarbon activities in the disputed area. It also announced sanctions, complaints and diplomatic efforts over flights between the islands and Punta Arenas.
Javier Milei’s government announced the start of international arbitration against the United Kingdom over the Sea Lion oil project in the North Falkland Basin, and gave it two weeks to adopt measures to prevent the start or continuation of activities linked to hydrocarbon exploitation in the disputed area.
According to the Office of the President and reports by BAE Negocios and Ámbito, if that request is not met, Argentina will turn to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to seek provisional measures. According to the official position, the procedure will be the one provided for in Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Milei announced the decision on X and said he had instructed the Foreign Ministry and legal teams to move forward with the arbitration over what he described as the illegal plundering of Argentine resources through Sea Lion.
To support its position, the government again cited Resolution 2065 of the United Nations General Assembly, which recognized the existence of a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom and urged a negotiated solution, and Resolution 31/49, which called on both parties to avoid unilateral decisions while the dispute continues.
In that line, the Casa Rosada maintains that the project’s advance implies a unilateral exploitation of natural resources in a disputed area. BAE Negocios added that the government also rejected the British response to Milei’s speech before the UN and stressed that the referendum held in 2013 does not alter the controversy recognized by the United Nations.
The official statement also added another front: the detection of operations by Thales UK Limited on the air route between the islands and Punta Arenas with a British-registered aircraft and, according to the government, without Argentine authorization. On that basis, it ordered the start of sanction proceedings, criminal complaints and diplomatic efforts.
Crónica also noted that the presidential mandate includes taking the claim before the Special Committee on Decolonization and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, while that outlet also indicated that the government is considering administrative and criminal sanctions against energy companies operating without Argentine authorization.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with assistance from artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not do its own reporting on this event.
