Argentinian President Javier Milei has been slammed for his plans to sanction British oil companies working off the coast of the Falklands.
Argentinean president Javier Milei plans to impose new sanctions on Falklands oil fields (Image: Getty)
GB News came to an abrupt halt on Friday, following Argentinian President Javier Milei’s attempts to threaten the Falkland Islands. Appearing on the programme, Rob Midgley, a spokesperson for Friends of the British Overseas Territories, slammed Milei’s plans to sanction British oil companies working off the coast of the Falklands.
“Argentina can announce whatever sanctions it likes, to be quite honest, and it doesn’t change the basic reality that the Falkland Islands are a self-governing British territory, and their resources are managed lawfully under UK jurisdiction,” Midgley explained. “I think the speech from President Milei is just political theatre. Argentina has no legal force over the British companies operating in the Falkland Islands. Full oil exploration in the Falklands is regulated.”
He continued, “The Falkland Islands have one of the most successful economies in the southern hemisphere, and there’s a lot of jealousy there. Argentina wants to gain control of it for their natural resources, but the Falkland Islanders have chosen their future, overwhelmingly and democratically; there should be no sanctions.”
Middley added that given the Falklands’ thriving economy, it was no surprise that “Argentina want to get their hands on it, too.”
A breaking update, Milei revealed his planned sanctions in a televised speech. “I want to be quite clear with everybody. The Falklands are Argentinean. Historically and legally,” the president said on Thursday night.
Arguing that the Sea Lion oilfield, which is co-owned by Israeli and British firms, had emerged as a “clear and present danger” amid future plans for oil drilling, Milei declared: “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.”
President Javier Milei declared ‘The Falklands are Argentinean’ on Thursday night (Image: Getty)
“The Falklands are our future – we need to recover these islands, which are nationally relevant. There is no other path forward,” he continued. “It is the best way of paying tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for this cause. It is our obligation as a nation to honour their memory.”
Following Milei’s speech, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has hit back on social media. “Milei’s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands,” he tweeted on Friday morning. “The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British. Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unshakeable.”