Argentine President Javier Milei has accused the United Nations of “looking the other way” on Argentina’s long-standing dispute with the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands, known to Argentines as Las Malvinas. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Milei called the islands a “national cause” and took aim at British-backed plans to extract oil from waters Argentina claims as its own. At the centre of the latest dispute is Sea Lion, a major oil project about 220km (140 miles) north of the islands, which Argentina considers illegal.
The owners of the project, UK-based Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum, are expected to begin drilling in the coming months, with production planned for 2028. Earlier this month, Argentina began sanctions proceedings against 60 companies and individuals linked to offshore drilling near the islands. British officials have rejected the measures, saying the Falklands have the right to develop their own natural resources.
Milei also argues the project runs counter to a 1976 UN General Assembly resolution calling on Argentina and the UK to negotiate over the sovereignty dispute and avoid unilateral action in the meantime. He said Argentina had chosen a “peaceful, practical, and effective defence” of its claim. Along with the sanctions, his government has also announced new funding for a naval base in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina’s southernmost province, to bolster its military presence near the islands.
The Falklands are a largely self-governing UK overseas territory in the South Atlantic. Britain has administered the islands since 1833, but Argentina has long claimed sovereignty. Argentina invaded the islands in 1982, triggering a 10-week war that ended in its surrender.
The UK says the islanders should decide their own future. In a 2013 referendum, 1,513 of 1,517 voters chose to remain a British overseas territory. Milei rejected that argument on Wednesday.
He said self-determination did not apply because the population had been “implanted by the occupying power” on disputed territory. The forceful stance is a shift for Milei, who had previously faced criticism from opponents for paying little attention to the sovereignty dispute while pursuing closer ties with the United States. But the political landscape has changed in recent weeks, as US President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of reconsidering Washington’s position on the islands, though he has stopped short of backing Argentina’s claim.
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