Milei sends Congress bill to penalize Falklands resource work

Britain rejects Argentine sanctions as court orders halt to Sea Lion

Argentina’s government on Sept. 17 sent Congress a 133-article bill that would punish unauthorized resource exploitation in the disputed waters around the Falkland Islands — known to Argentines as the Malvinas — with oil-indexed fines and prison terms of up to 20 years, UPI reported. The proposed Law in Defense of National Sovereignty caps two weeks of escalation.

In a televised address on Sept. 3, Milei promised sanctions against companies developing oil around the British-administered islands and announced a new naval base in Tierra del Fuego. Argentina’s Foreign Ministry has since opened 60 administrative sanction proceedings, and on Sept. 8 the government filed a criminal complaint against Navitas Petroleum, Rockhopper Exploration and other companies before federal Judge Julián Ercolini in Buenos Aires.

At the center of the confrontation is the Sea Lion offshore field, about 220 kilometers north of the islands, operated by Israel’s Navitas and Britain’s Rockhopper. The companies took their final investment decision in December 2025; Rockhopper has put the funding requirement at $1.8 billion to first oil, planned for 2028, and $2.1 billion to completion. For Argentina, Sea Lion means the extraction of resources beneath waters it claims as its own; for the islanders and Britain, it is a major economic opportunity developed under licenses they consider valid. Rockhopper’s shares fell more than 10% in early trading the morning after Milei’s speech, then partly recovered.

A second track opened in the courts. On Sept. 16, federal Judge Mariel Borruto of Río Grande, in Tierra del Fuego, ordered Navitas and Rockhopper to halt work on Sea Lion pending an Argentine environmental review, acting on a suit by a La Plata veterans’ association and environmental lawyers. Navitas has said its Falklands licenses are valid and expects no material effect. Separately, SLB, Halliburton and Baker Hughes — three of the world’s largest oilfield service companies — have reaffirmed their commitment to Argentina and ruled out participating in Malvinas hydrocarbon projects.

London has answered firmly. Guidance published Sept. 15 by the British Foreign Office states that Argentina has no right to apply its domestic law to the islands or to companies operating there, and that Britain sees no basis on which courts outside Argentina could enforce such measures. The same guidance reaffirms the islanders’ right to develop their natural resources, including hydrocarbons.

Milei’s posture has shifted from 2024, when he called former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher “brilliant” and spoke of recovering the islands within a “framework of peace.” This month, he declared that the islanders have no legitimate right to self-determination, dismissing the 2013 referendum in which 99.8% of participating voters chose to remain a British Overseas Territory. The position aligns him with Argentina’s historic view that a population settled after Britain took control in 1833 cannot override its claim, and sets him against the principle on which Britain rests its case.

Argentina votes for president in 2027, and few causes carry the emotional weight of the Malvinas. Former Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana said the measures arrive late, after three years of neglect. Left-wing lawmaker Nicolás del Caño accused Milei of using the claim to regain ground before the election, an interpretation Milei dismissed as “utter stupidity,” saying his address was triggered by events abroad.

Those events center on Trump. Asked on Aug. 31 whether Washington was reconsidering its position on the islands, Trump replied that he reviews every position. In a separate interview with Britain’s GB News, he complained that London had not helped in the U.S. war with Iran and suggested he might not come to Britain’s aid in a conflict with Argentina. Milei has cast the remarks as proof that his personal relationship with Trump is paying off.

The limits on Argentina’s expectations are visible in the wider U.S. posture. Washington has long recognized de facto British administration while taking no position on sovereignty, and although the Reagan administration first tried to mediate, it backed Britain in the 1982 war. The two countries remain NATO and Five Eyes intelligence partners. At its June 24 General Assembly in Panama, the Organization of American States adopted by acclamation its annual declaration urging Argentina and Britain to resume sovereignty negotiations as soon as possible, with Costa Rica among the delegations speaking in support. The U.N. Decolonization Committee likewise calls for a negotiated, peaceful solution.