AJ
⚡️ Argentina rejects British sovereignty claims over the Falkland Islands, issues sanctions
➡️ President Javier Milei published a statement which had been anticipated for 24 hours since the original announcement for the publication, reaffirming constitutional and historical mandates in Argentina which reject British sovereignty claims over the Falkland Islands, known locally as the Islas Malvinas.
🔹 Milei said the Malvinas are Argentine, by both history and right, meaning there is no debate on the matter: “The islands have formed part of Argentine territory since the origins of our nation.”
🔹 The President noted that in 1833, the United Kingdom occupied the Malvinas, expelling Argentine authorities, and establishing a colonial situation that persists to this day.
🔹 According to Milei, this implies that the islanders, as a population implanted in an usurped territory, do not have the legitimate right to self determination, and that any argument based on referendums conducted on the island is invalid.
🔹 “Since then, Argentina has permanently maintained its claim of sovereignty because, as the National Constitution states in its First Transitory Provision: ‘The Argentine Nation ratifies its legitimate and imprescriptible sovereignty over the Malvinas, South Georgia, and South Sandwich Islands, and the corresponding maritime insular spaces, as they are an integral part of the national territory,” the President said.
🔹 Milei said the recovery of the said territories, and the full exercise of sovereignty, respecting the lifestyle of its inhabitants and in accordance with the principles of international law, constituted a permanent and unrenounceable objective of the Argentine people.
🔹 According to the Milei, the United Nations recognised the existence of a sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom and had repeatedly called on both countries to resolve it through bilateral relations, which is why the Malvinas cause does not belong a government or a political party; it is a national cause.
US POLICY SHIFT
➡️ During the last three years, Milei continued, the Argentine government had driven the sovereignty claim based on new geopolitical relevance to the country.
🔹 “We have obtained 18 resolutions and declarations from international bodies and forums supporting our claim, and presented more than 60 formal proposals regarding unilateral actions by the United Kingdom,” he said,.
🔹 The President said that furthermore, the winds of change were favourable to Argentina’s claim were blowing across the world.
🔹 “Recently, President Trump stated that the United States is re-evaluating its historical positions regarding the Malvinas,” Milei pointed out, adding that the path is not in vain.
🔹 “The United States is evaluating this shift in position because they know Argentina is a reliable partner, aligned with Western values, in a position of strategic relevance that can be a valuable ally in the decades to come,” adding that without the US shift in position, none of the current actions would be possible.
EXPEDITED STATUTORY SANCTIONS & STATE-WIDE DETERRENCE
➡️ Milei said that in particular, Argentina have managed to determine that the Sea Lion project, operated by Navitas Petroleum and Rockhopper Exploration, had set a date to begin offshore oil exploitation at some point in the coming months.
🔹 “It means that if we do not act today with firmness and speed, in just a few months they will have the physical ability to appropriate the oil reserves that lie beneath our seas – something that has never happened to us before now,” the President said.
🔹 Milei said that if this was allowed to happen, Argentina would be creating an incentive for the British government to deepen its occupation of the islands and the exploitation of Argentinian resopurces.
🔹 The President continued: “And Sea Lion is just one of the projects they have advancing on our islands – there are other projects and other companies that also represent a threat to Argentina’s strategic interests,” noting this meant today, the Argentinian national cause faces a clear and urgent danger from that response: “We will not allow it and Argentina will not stand idly by.”
🔹 Milei said that in response, Argentina will deploy all state tools, including diplomatic, economic, judicial, and legal, in order to deter both state and non-state actors who violate Argentina’s sovereignty.
🔹 “The Argentine Foreign Ministry has sent nearly 180 letters discouraging companies, as well as reaching out to more than 29 countries involved in various projects on our Island,” the President said.
🔹 “At the same time, tonight I will be signing a decree to expedite the sanctioning procedures established by law 26,559 against those who participate in oil extraction initiatives in Argentine territory under British occupation,” Milei added.
🔹 Milei said: “Today, we will sign an Emergency Necessity Decree to increase the resources of the Ministry of Defence, with the primary objective of building an integrated naval base in Tierra del Fuego and boosting our telecommunications capabilities.”
🔹 According to the president, the construction of a new base will become the most significant logistics hub in the South Atlantic and will be crucial for Argentina’s geopolitical projection.
NATIONAL SECURITY DOCTRINE
➡️ President Milei said that National Security is not only the physical defence of Argentinian territory, but it ensures the survival and prosperity of the nation over time, which is why it encompasses defence, security, intelligence, and the economy.
🔹 “Attracting investments, protecting our currency, strengthening our financial system, and developing our critical resources are national security issues,” Milei said, adding that protecting the South Atlantic is also a matter of national security.
🔹 Milei said the world was reconfiguring itself at ever-increasing speeds, stating that great nations in the future will have to compete for the resources needed to feed the growth that the era of artificial intelligence is bringing.
🔹 “In that dispute, Antarctica will be one of the main focuses of interest and competition, and Argentine is not starting from zero, because in Antarctica, we have the longest-standing uninterrupted presence in the world,” the president said.
🔹 “Whoever has the greater projection over the South Atlantic will be in a better position to defend their interests,” he continued, stating that is why securing Argentina’s pre-eminence in the territory was not a political whim, but a matter of survival.
🔹 Milei concluded: “And for that reason, any further advance of the Malvinas Islands will be considered a violation of our national security – we must act today with an eye on the future, and Malvinas is the future.”
🔹 The President added: “It is not merely a matter of our past – defending our sovereignty and recovering our island requires being a politically relevant, economically influential, and military respectable nation – there is no other path.”
