Argentina Launches Arbitration Over Falklands Oil Project, Sets Two-Week Deadline for UK

Argentina has initiated international arbitration against the United Kingdom under Annex VII of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) targeting the Sea Lion oil project in the North Falkland Basin. President Javier Milei instructed the Foreign Ministry and legal teams to activate the mechanism to stop what the government calls the illegal exploitation of hydrocarbon resources.

The government formally notified London, demanding it adopt measures to halt exploration activities within two weeks. If the UK fails to comply, Argentina will request provisional measures from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to preserve its claimed sovereign rights over the continental shelf.

“The Falklands are Argentine and they are defended with facts, not words.”

Simultaneously, the administration denounced unauthorized flights by British firm Thales UK Limited between the Falklands and Punta Arenas, Chile. The presidency announced criminal complaints and sanctioning procedures against the company for operating a UK-registered aircraft without Argentine authorization.

In a post on X, Milei stated he ordered the arbitration against the "illegal plunder" of resources via the Sea Lion project. He reiterated that the Falklands are Argentine and must be defended with "facts, not words." The official communique argued unilateral resource exploitation causes "irreversible and irreparable" harm to Argentina's sovereign rights.