Argentina's president has threatened to launch a legal challenge against the British government unless it halts oil exploration work off the coast of the Falkland Islands.
In a social media post, President Javier Milei set a two-week deadline for the Sea Lion oilfield project, a joint venture between Israeli and British companies, to be scrapped.
The companies insist they have valid licences issued by Britain.
The comments heighten tensions between the UK and Argentina over the sovereignty of the archipelago, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas, more than 40 years after a British military task force ejected Argentine forces which had invaded the territory in 1982.
Milei said that if the two-week deadline was not met, he had "instructed the Foreign Ministry and legal teams to initiate international arbitration" against the UK over what he called "the illegal plundering of our resources through the Sea Lion Project".
He continued to warn the UK that if the "illegitimate exploitation" of the region didn't end within two weeks, Argentina would take the matter before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
The International Tribunal is an independent judicial body based in Hamburg which is responsible for the fair application of the United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The move comes soon after Milei roundly criticised the UN in his speech at the General Assembly for failing to act over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands.
He said the UN had become "a useless organisation" which only serves "arrogant parasites dressed up as well-intentioned bureaucrats".
Since then, the UK Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, said that Argentina "lacks the ability" to take back the Falklands by force.
The Falkland Islands
Key facts about the islands and their history
Where are they?
The Falkland Islands are a group of islands in the south-west Atlantic.
There are two main islands, East Falkland, which includes the capital Stanley, West Falkland, and roughly 780 smaller islands and islets.
It is an overseas territory of the UK roughly 8,000 miles from the British Isles and 300 miles from Argentina.
Who lives there?
Around 3,100 people live on the islands.
More than 2,500 live in Stanley with smaller settlements dotted across the main islands and further afield.
Islanders are British citizens and the predominant language is English.
Who governs them?
The Falkland Islands are largely self-governing, although foreign affairs and defence matters are handled by the British government.
The territory has a legislative assembly, which passes legislation, and an executive council, which makes decisions over policy and is chaired by the British governor.
Argentina also claims sovereignty over the islands, calling them Islas Malvinas.
The country says it inherited the islands following its independence from Spain.
Key dates in the Falklands' history
- 1690: English captain makes first recorded landing on Falklands
- 1764: First settlement founded on East Falkland by French navigator
- 1765 British settle West Falkland. They are driven off by the Spanish in 1770 but return in 1771, only to withdraw again in 1774
- 1820: Independent Argentina proclaims sovereignty over the Falklands
- 1833: British force expels remaining Argentine officials from the island and installs a governor
- 1982: Start of Falklands War
What was the Falklands War?
Argentina invaded the Falklands and other nearby British islands in 1982.
After 10 weeks of conflict, British troops recaptured Port Stanley and Argentinian soldiers surrendered.
It led to the deaths of of 655 Argentine and 255 British service personnel, as well as three civilians.
What’s the current situation?
In a referendum held by the Falkland government in 2013, 99.8% of the voters supported remaining an overseas territory of the UK.
Successive British governments have long maintained that Falklanders have a right to self-determination under international law established by the United Nations Charter.
In April 2024, Argentina's President Javier Milei said he would set out a "roadmap" for the islands to become part of Argentina, adding that it would only be achieved via diplomatic means.
Milei had previously said the Sea Lion oilfield was a "clear and present danger".
The Sea Lion oilfield, around 130 miles (209 km) from the Falkland Islands, contains an estimated 1.7 billion barrels of oil.
Two oil companies – Britain's Rockhopper Exploration and Israel's Navitas Petroleum – are due to begin extracting from the oilfield within two years.
Both companies have in the past stressed that Sea Lion holds valid licences from the Falkland Islands.
In a 2013 referendum, residents of the islands voted overwhelmingly to remain a British overseas territory - with 99.8% voting in favour and just three voting against.
Argentine forces landed on the Falklands to stake a territorial claim in 1982, sparking a 74-day war over the territory as a British military task force ejected them.
The conflict led to the deaths of 255 British military personnel, three islanders and 649 Argentine military personnel.
