Argentina's Foreign Ministry has taken a radical diplomatic step, summoned the ambassador of the United Kingdom and the ambassador of the State of Israel under enhanced procedure. The diplomats were handed official protest notes against the plans to launch the oil project Sea Lion in the waters of the disputed Malvinas (Falkland) Islands (life.ru).
The conflict over the Sea Lion project
Tensions escalated after the government of the British overseas territory gave the green light to the British company Rockhopper Exploration and the Israeli Navitas Petroleum (news.rambler.ua) to begin preparatory activities for extraction. According to expert estimates, the deposit hides deposits of about 10);" data-processed="true" data-sfc-cp="" data-sfc-root="ep" jsaction="" jscontroller="tP2kf#s32ZS" jsuid="UX7OG_1u">1.7 billion barrels of oil (topwar.ru), which makes it an appetizing and strategic economic morsel.
The Argentine Foreign Ministry also categorically condemned the London-published business guides in the region (report.az), defining them as:
- Attempt to authenticate illegal extraction of hydrocarbons in sovereign Argentine waters.
- Direct violation of UN Resolution 31/49, demanding abstention from unilateral actions until a lasting peaceful resolution of the bilateral dispute (report.az).
Javier Milley hardens course
The diplomatic demarche is a continuation of the hard line of the Argentine president Javier Milley (news.rambler.ua). He recently introduced a bill to impose heavy economic sanctions (news.rambler.ua) against a total of 60 individuals and legal entities (news.rambler.ua) associated with the project. In parallel, Buenos Aires filed criminal cases against the management of Navitas Petroleum (stmegi.com).
For its part, the British Foreign Office counters that Argentina has no jurisdiction (reuters.com) over the Falkland Islands and the local population has the full right only to dispose of its natural resources (reuters.com). The dispute also threatens to darken the traditionally strong partnership between Milley and Israel, and according to information in the Israeli media (newarab.com), Buenos Aires has already questioned the planned relocation of the Argentine embassy to Jerusalem.