In brief
Argentina’s President Javier Mile‑I has issued a two‑week deadline for the Sea Lion oilfield project, a joint venture by Israeli and British firms, to be scrapped. If the UK fails to comply, Argentina will launch international arbitration and bring the case before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. The move deepens a long‑standing dispute over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls Las Malvinas. The controversy follows Mile‑I’s sharp criticism of the UN and the UK’s defence stance after the 1982 conflict.
Argentina’s President Javier Mile‑I declares a two‑week deadline for the Sea Lion oilfield project to be halted. If London fails to comply, Buenos Aires will launch international arbitration and bring the dispute before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
The Sea Lion field, located around 130 miles from the Falkland Islands, is jointly owned by Israel’s Navitas Petroleum and Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration. The partners say they hold licences granted by the Falklands authorities, while Argentina calls the plans “illegal plundering” of its resources.
The spat re‑ignites the 1982 war in which Britain expelled Argentine forces. Today about 1.7 billion barrels of oil are believed to lie beneath the disputed waters.
Mile‑I has condemned the UN as “a useless organisation” and warned that if the UK does not relinquish the project within two weeks, Argentina will forward the case to the Hamburg‑based International Tribunal.
The British Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, has said Argentina lacks the ability to seize the islands by force.
