Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, has escalated the dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands, warning that sanctions will be used against offshore oil drilling and arguing that islanders do not have the right to self-determination.
In a grave televised address delivered from the presidential palace in Buenos Aires in the early hours of Friday, the combative leader stood alongside his cabinet and declared: “The islands are ours and they were taken from us.”
Calling on Argentinians to rally behind the country’s sovereignty claim, Mr Milei said Donald Trump was ushering in “winds of change” after the US president suggested he would not support Britain if Argentina launched another invasion of the Falklands, following Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to back his war with Iran.
Mr Milei claimed Argentina “will prevail” in its effort to recover the Falklands, saying Britain is “on a path of decline” and facing a series of “multiple crises”, including social, economic and immigration pressures.
The Argentine president, who is a year from an election and struggling in the polls, said the country must “recover these islands” and vowed to deploy “all the tools of the state: diplomatic, economic, judicial and legal” to obstruct drilling in the Sea Lion oilfield, a reserve estimated to contain 1.7 billion barrels of oil.
He did not mention military action, but announced his government would issue an immediate emergency decree to build a naval base on Tierra del Fuego, the Argentine coastline closest to the Falklands.
‘If we do not act swiftly, in a few months they will have the material capacity to access the oil that lies underneath our sea. Something that has never happened before,’ he said.
Mr Milei’s speech came at a time when his own country is suffering a decline in manufacturing, major industrial job losses and mounting household debt.
He is also facing questions over his relationship with tech billionaire and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, who has recently moved to Buenos Aires, sparking wild anti-capitalist protests outside his £8.9million ($12m) mansion.
In a televised address overnight, President Javier Milei today ramped up tensions with the UK over the Falklands, warning sanctions will be imposed for offshore oil drilling
Donald Trump suggested this week that Washington could review its longstanding neutral position on the sovereignty of the islands, which have been in British hands for centuries.
In the early hours of today, Mr Milei announced that he would impose Trump-style sanctions on any oil companies working in the area ‘under the British occupation’.
Mr Milei said the Sea Lion oilfield, which is owned by Israel’s Navitas Petroleum and British firm Rockhopper Exploration and where production is expected to begin in 2028, was a ‘clear and present danger’.
‘The Falklands are Argentine. Historically and legally. There can be no argument. They are part of the Argentine territory,’ he said.
‘The islanders on their usurped territory do not have a legitimate right to self-determination and any argument on any such self-determination is invalid.
‘In the world, the winds are blowing favourably for our claim right now. President Trump announced that the US is re-evaluating its historic position regarding the Malvinas.
‘Argentina is a country with natural resources, in a position of geographic strategic relevance that is not affected by uncontrolled immigration, the violence this brings, and the problems of national security that today stalk Europe.
‘If we evaluate the structural conditions of the United Kingdom, however, they confront multiple crises of a migratory, demographic and economic character that will be difficult to solve. It is clear that they are in decline.
‘However, Argentina is flourishing, and it will prevail.’
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting responded by saying that Britain’s commitment to the Falkland Islands is ‘absolute and unshakeable’ amid ongoing concerns about Britain’s ability to defend them as they did in 1982.
Last night it emerged the Army is being forced to cancel training exercises in a bid to save £30million amid Labour’s refusal to increase spending on defence.
‘Milei’s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands,’ Mr Streeting said.
‘The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British. Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unshakeable.’
President Milei insisted the Falkland Islands are ‘facing a new threat’ and claimed the UK has ‘failed to heed’ the call of the United Nations not to undertake ‘unilateral actions’ on the territory.
Britain first landed on the uninhabited islands in 1690 and claimed them for the Crown in 1765.
It has maintained a permanent presence there since 1833, 47 years before Argentina became a fully unified state following its declaration of independence from Spain in 1816.
A total of 255 British servicemen were among the 907 people who died in the 1982 Falklands war, which saw UK armed forces retake the islands after an Argentine invasion.
The last official referendum of Falkland Islanders was held in 2013, when 99.8 per cent of voters chose to remain a British Overseas Territory.
Milei chose to be flanked by his own cabinet as he said that Argentina would use ‘all the tools of the state: diplomatic, economic, judicial and legal’ to impede drilling
During the World Cup, Argentina’s footballers caused outrage when they hijacked their semi-final win over England to carry a banner claiming the Falkland Islands belong to their country.
The ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ banner, which used the Argentine name for the Falklands – Las Malvinas – was passed on to the pitch by fans and star player Lionel Messi was also seen dancing alongside it.
Mr Milei said last night: ‘For more than 50 years, the United Nations have been calling Argentina and the United Kingdom not to undertake unilateral actions on the territory of the islands until the dispute is resolved, including the use of its national resources.
‘However, the United Kingdom has systematically failed to heed that call.’
And announcing plans for a naval base in Tierra del Fuego in the south of Argentina, he said Mr Trump and the US was ‘assessing their historical position in regard to the Falklands’.
‘That is not empty words as they understand that Argentina is a reliable partner and a valuable ally for decades to come,’ he said.
‘Our role and relevance as a country in the world has changed dramatically.
‘The Falklands are our future – we need to recover these islands which are nationally relevant. There is no other path forward.’
He was speaking after Mr Trump hinted he would not back Britain if Argentina invaded the Islands again.
The US president on Thursday jibed that the UK ‘isn’t doing well’ and had failed to ‘help’ with the military campaign against Iran.
The US has traditionally taken a neutral position regarding the Falklands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas.
But Mr Trump recently suggested that the stance is being reviewed, in what many regard as a pressure tactic to get more UK military cooperation.
The US has historically taken a neutral position on the Falklands, but Trump (pictured in 2025 with Milei) has hinted that they may review it. The men have become friends and allies
Asked in an interview with GB News whether he would ‘come to the aid’ of the UK in the event of another invasion, Mr Trump said he clearly remembered the 1982 conflict.
‘I was there when they had the first war, that was a long time ago… you comported yourself very well, took it back very shortly. But it is a long way away,’ he said.
‘So, your country’s not doing well. Don’t forget you get a big percentage of your oil from the Strait of Hormuz and you weren’t there to help me. Your country was not there to help me.’
Sarah Rogers, a senior official in the US State Department, wrote on X that ‘exciting things are happening in the Western Hemisphere’ alongside a photo of her and Mr Milei ahead of his speech.
Downing Street said earlier this week the UK’s position on the Falklands was ‘longstanding and unwavering’.
‘Sovereignty rests with the UK, and the islanders’ right to self-determination is paramount.
‘The UK’s position is clear. The islanders have repeatedly expressed their wish to remain a British overseas territory.’
