Argentina
The United Kingdom Rejected Milei’s Position on the Falklands and Defended Hydrocarbon Exploitation
London responded to the Argentine president’s speech before the UN with a statement in the organization’s official record. It reaffirmed its position on sovereignty, invoked the self-determination of the islanders and said oil activity is legal.
The United Kingdom responded to Javier Milei’s speech before the UN General Assembly with a statement from its representation to the United Nations in which it reaffirmed its position on the Falkland Islands, South Georgia, South Sandwich Islands and the surrounding maritime areas.
According to reports by Infobae, Clarín and Perfil, London said it has no doubts about its sovereignty over those territories and again backed the principle of self-determination for the islanders. In that line, it said the islanders have the right to define their political status and their economic, social and cultural development.
The response came after Milei called before the UN for negotiations over the sovereignty dispute to resume and questioned the organization for not moving forward on the Argentine claim. Perfil also noted that the President warned that Argentina will not be indifferent to the exploitation of natural resources under what he described as an illegal occupation.
In its statement, the United Kingdom said that the resolutions and diplomatic declarations cited by Argentina do not alter, in its view, the obligation to respect self-determination. It also said there can be no dialogue on sovereignty if the islanders do not want it.
London again cited the referendum held in 2013 on the islands. According to the statement released by the three media outlets, turnout was 92% and 99.8% voted to keep the status of overseas territory of the United Kingdom.
On natural resources, the British government said it supports the islanders’ right to develop them and considered hydrocarbon exploitation to be a legitimate commercial activity, regulated by local legislation and in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It also stressed that Argentine legislation does not apply on the islands.
In addition, it rejected Argentina’s interpretation of UN resolutions 2065 and 31/49 and questioned attempts to hinder international companies linked to oil activity in the area, considering that they amount to an unacceptable extraterritorial exercise and are contrary to international law.
Clarín and Perfil added that the British response became known amid renewed diplomatic tension in New York. Both outlets mentioned interventions by Andy Burnham on the issue during the General Assembly, while Clarín also referred to an Argentine reply attributed to Pablo Quirno.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
