UK reaffirms 'unshakeable' commitment to Falklands after Milei reiterates Argentina's claim to the islands

British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has reaffirmed the UK's "absolute and unshakeable" commitment to the Falkland Islands after Argentine President Javier Milei reiterated Argentina's claim to the territory overnight.

"The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British," Streeting wrote in a post on X on Friday morning, adding that Milei's statement showed "more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands."

Milei had said on Thursday that "winds of change" were beginning to favour Argentina's claim to the Falklands as he touted US President Donald Trump's recent suggestion that Washington could reconsider its neutral position on the islands - which have been at the centre of a long running and bloody dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom.

"President Trump recently stated that the United States is reevaluating its historical position regarding Las Malvinas," the right-wing leader said in a TV address, using the Argentine name for the islands.

"This threat is not to be taken lightly," he continued, adding: "Winds of change are blowing across the world in favor of our cause."

Trump had earlier this week cast doubt on US support for the UK in a potential conflict over the territory, pointing to Britain's lack of backing in the Iran war - which began in late February following US and Israeli strikes on Iran.

"Your country is not doing well," he told GB News. "Don't forget, you get a big percentage of your oil from the Strait of Hormuz, and you weren't there to help me. Your country was not there to help me".

New Sanctions

In his speech, Milei also announced that he would be signing off on a series of new sanctions targeting oil companies working off of the islands, which he described as "under British occupation."

"For 50 years, the United Nations has called on Argentina and the United Kingdom to refrain from taking unilateral actions regarding the territory, including the exploitation of its natural resources, until the dispute is resolved. However, the United Kingdom has systematically failed to comply with this call," he said.

He then referenced the British-Israeli Sea Lion oil project, an oilfield roughly 220 km to the north of the Falkland Islands, saying it was due to begin production in the next few months.

"It means that if we do not act firmly and swiftly today, in a few months they will have the material capacity to appropriate the oil reserves lying beneath our sea, something that has never happened before," Milei said. "If we allow this to happen, we will be creating an incentive for the British government to deepen its occupation of the islands and the exploitation of our resources".

The Falkland Islands

Sovereignty over the islands has long been a divisive and highly politicised issue, particularly following the 10-week war of 1982, which began after Argentine forces invaded the territory.

Then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher launched a naval task force to reclaim the islands, and the conflict ended with Argentina's surrender in June of that year.

In 2013, Falkland Islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain British following a referendum. Of the more than 1,500 votes that came in, over 99% were in favour, with three votes against.