Argentinian president Milei threatens to take UK to court over Falklands oil drilling
It marks the latest escalation in the dispute over the British overseas territory, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas
Argentina has given the UK a two week ultimatum to stop an oil exploration venture off the coast of the Falkland Islands before it launches a legal challenge.
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President Javier Milei warned on social media that his government would ask for an emergency order from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to halt the development of the Sea Lion oilfield.
He wrote on X: “If in two weeks the United Kingdom does not stop the illegitimate exploitation, we will go to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea."
Milei slammed the UK's "illegal plundering of our resources through the Sea Lion Project" of the islands.
It marks the latest escalation in the dispute over the British Overseas Territory, known in Argentina as Las Malvinas.
Read more: Top Tory MP accuses China of encouraging Argentina to go after Falkland Islands
The country invaded the archipelago in 1982 and fought a 10-week war that ended with Argentina's surrender to Britain and is still commemorated in Buenos Aires in street murals for the fallen soldiers.
It comes after Milei used his speech the General Assembly to rally against the UN, urging it to help Argentina to seize the Falklands and end its inaction .
Describing his country's claim over the archipelago as a “national cause”, he called for an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Andy Burnham as tensions with Britain continue to surge.
Milei then slammed the “useless” UN for failing to help its country with its territorial claim, arguing its “only purpose is to sustain a cast of faintly arrogant parasites masquerading as well-intentioned bureaucrats".
He said the dispute was yet another example of the UN's failure to back justifiable claims of territorial integrity.
The Sea Lion oilfield is located around 130 miles offshore from the Falkland Islands.
It contains approximately 1.7 billion barrels of oil.
The oilfield is a joint-venture between two oil companies - British firm Rockhopper Exploration and Israel's Navitas Petroleum.
Both have claimed in the past that Sea Lion has the correct licenses from the Falkland Islands.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was founded in 1982 by the UN and has the power to issue emergency orders although it would have little power to force Britain to comply.