MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

London rejects Argentina's arbitration and questions its “reliability” as a partner

MLA Roberts this morning working the Labour Party Conference with Minister of Overseas Territories and Defence Secretary Wes Streeting

The British government has rejected Argentina's decision to initiate international arbitration over the Sea Lion oil project and said Buenos Aires' campaign over the Falklands “raises questions about Argentina's reliability as a partner for the United Kingdom”. It is the first time London has extended the dispute to the bilateral relationship as a whole.

The statement, signed by Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Overseas Territories Uma Kumaran and released on Wednesday, describes the recourse to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as “the latest attempt to undermine the rights and livelihoods” of the archipelago's residents. It says they “have freely and democratically chosen their future” and have the right to develop their natural resources “without intimidation, coercion or interference from others”, and that hydrocarbon activity is regulated under local law “in full accordance with international law, including UNCLOS”. These are UK government positions, contested by Argentina.

According to the text, London told Argentina's ambassador to the United Kingdom this week that efforts to obstruct economic activity “are not acts of responsible international engagement” but “deliberate attempts to undermine the prosperity and economic security of a self-governing people”. The statement concludes that the United Kingdom will continue to stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with the archipelago's government and will “robustly defend” its wishes, its economy and its right to self-determination. On X, Kumaran wrote: “The Falkland Islands are British.” Rockhopper Exploration, the project's British partner, said it would press ahead with Sea Lion and called Argentina's claim “illegitimate”, according to the Buenos Aires Herald.

President Javier Milei on Monday ordered the start of arbitration proceedings under Annex VII of the Convention and gave London two weeks to prevent exploitation in the basin north of the archipelago; if it does not, Argentina will seek provisional measures from the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Buenos Aires argues that unilateral exploitation contravenes General Assembly resolutions 2065 and 31/49 and causes “irreversible and irreparable” harm to its rights. In previous cases, tribunals under the Convention have declined to rule on territorial sovereignty disputes.

Argentina also has 60 administrative proceedings open, with no penalty applied, and three criminal complaints against ten companies. None of the allegations has been proven. In the 2013 referendum, on a 92% turnout, 99.8% of voters chose to retain the status of a British overseas territory.