Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has said the UK will "resolutely uphold" the self-determination of the Falkland Islands after Argentinian president Javier Milei said his country needed to take them back.
Milei escalated his country's dispute with the UK over the Falkland Islands on Thursday, vowing to introduce sanctions on any oil companies working in the area in a national address.
The renewed tensions over the British overseas territory came after US President Donald Trump hinted the US would not help the UK in a future Falklands conflict.
Argentina maintains that it inherited sovereignty over the islands from its former coloniser, Spain, and that Britain has illegally occupied them since 1833.
Britain rejects that claim, citing the islanders’ desire to remain a British overseas territory.
Mr Miliband said in a post on X: “The UK’s position on the Falkland Islands is unwavering.
"The Islands are British and will remain so because that is the overwhelming position of the Islanders.
"Their right of self-determination is paramount, grounded in international law and we will resolutely uphold it."
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting earlier said the UK’s commitment to the Falklands was "absolute and unshakeable."
Posting on X on Friday, Streeting said: "Milei’s statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands.
"The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British. Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unshakeable."
The Argentine leader announced sweeping actions aimed at stopping the development of the deep-sea Sea Lion oil project, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of the islands, where British company Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum plan to begin drilling in the coming months and start pumping oil in 2028.
Argentina considers the project an illegal exploitation of resources in waters it claims as its own.
He threatened tougher sanctions against companies involved in the offshore drilling and announced new funding for a naval base in Argentina’s southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego to bolster the country’s military presence near the islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.
"Argentina will not stand idly by," Milei said. "Any further advance on the Malvinas Islands will be considered a violation of our national security."
