The UK has pledged to defend its interests in the Sea Lion project to develop an oil field near the Falkland Islands, while Argentina has launched a legal challenge in court over offshore oil exploration, citing environmental concerns. Attorney General Ellie Reeves, who represents the UK government at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), said billions of pounds crucial to the future of the Falkland Islands will be lost if Argentina manages to block the project. The Hamburg-based court will meet for two days as Argentina seeks a provisional decision to suspend oil drilling. Reeves also said Argentina’s objection to the development was rooted in its territorial claims. “The hearing is not about the sovereignty of the Falklands,” the UK prime minister’s official spokesman said on Monday, echoing his country’s position that the sovereignty of the islands is non-negotiable. The dispute is the latest in growing tensions between the United Kingdom and Argentina over British overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. As Vicky Kapogianni, associate professor of international and environmental law at the University of Reading, explained to Al Jazeera: “Sovereignty is the root of the dispute. Oil is the trigger, and the environment is the best legal route for Argentina.” Here’s what we know: What is it about? The Sea Lion development is a British-Israeli venture to drill for oil in waters administered by the Falklands. Britain’s Rockhopper Exploration and Israel’s Navitas Petroleum, operator of the Sea Lion oil field, located about 220 km (137 miles) from the islands, are expected to start the project in March 2027, with oil production beginning in 2028. According to Rockhopper Exploration, the Sea Lion oil field contains approximately 1.7 billion barrels of oil, of which 500 million barrels are recoverable resources. However, Argentina’s President Javier Milei announced measures to block the development in September, saying in a post on “If in 2 weeks the United Kingdom does not stop the illegitimate exploitation, we will go to the International Court of the Law of the Sea. THE FALKLANDS ARE ARGENTINA, and they defend themselves with actions, not with words,” he wrote, using the Argentine name of the Falkland Islands. Argentina formally filed a complaint with the court requesting provisional measures against the United Kingdom on October 13. The United Kingdom has administered the Falkland Islands since 1833. However, as the territory lies off the coast of Argentina, Buenos Aires claims sovereignty. about what he calls Las Malvinas. Milei has also threatened tougher sanctions on companies involved in the oil exploration project, preventing them from operating in Argentina’s oil and mining sectors. Milei’s government argues that the project violates a United Nations resolution that calls on both sides to refrain from unilateral action on the islands until their dispute over the territory’s sovereignty is resolved. But Jorge Emilio Núñez, reader in legal philosophy at Manchester Metropolitan University, explained that at the center of the procedure is the question of sovereignty over the Falklands. Malvinas. “The oil project is the current trigger, but it sits on top of deeper competing claims over title, islander self-determination and control of surrounding maritime spaces and resources,” Núñez told Al Jazeera. “This is not just a legal dispute. It also involves domestic politics and the prestige of leaders on both sides. When valuable natural resources become commercially viable, the underlying territorial disagreement is reactivated and reformulated through legal, environmental and economic arguments. The resource issue does not replace sovereignty; the dispute intensifies it.” A sign welcomes visitors on November 10, 2026, in Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. [Dan Kitwood/Getty Images]What was said in court? On Tuesday, Attorney General Reeves told the Law of the Sea Tribunal, which issues legally binding rulings on maritime disputes, that Argentina wanted to “take control of those resources for itself.” “The provisional measures requested by Argentina would prevent the people of the Falkland Islands from developing their natural resources as they have the right to do, in accordance with their fundamental right to self-determination,” he said, according to The Guardian. “The measures requested would have devastating consequences for the people of the Falklands. They risk losing billions of pounds in money, which is essential for the economic development of the islands.” But the Argentine lawyer, Mario Oyarzabal, argued that it was necessary to act to block the project.“[Argentina] respects the interests of the islands’ inhabitants and their way of life enshrined in the Argentine constitution…What these British citizens do not have is the right to decide which state the islands belong to,” he said during the hearing, The Guardian reported. “These resources belong to the Argentine people. Some 46 million of them, including the 1,247 inhabitants born on the islands, whose interests will be duly taken into account,” he added. In 2013, Falkland Islanders voted overwhelmingly to remain in the United Kingdom, despite Argentina’s claims. Kapogianni, of the University of Reading, explained that environmental risks are central issues. “If there is a spill, the oil could reach waters off the Argentine mainland, which no one disputes are Argentina. So the real questions are: Has the UK adequately assessed that risk? Have you shared what you found? Are you prepared to plan with Argentina in the event of an accident?” Kapogianni told Al Jazeera: “These are issues that can be decided without deciding who owns the islands. But where Argentina is weakest is when it asks to protect the environment in the waters surrounding the islands themselves, the waters in dispute. This is where the problem begins, because it can be assumed that Argentina must protect those waters, which brings us back to the question of sovereignty. “So yes, in that sense, that is, indirectly and through the questions, sovereignty is at the heart of the issue. But it is not the question that the court can answer. The environment is,” he said. [UN Convention on the Law of the Sea] “We will continue to firmly defend our interests and those of the Falkland Islanders,” the spokesperson added. Last month, Burnham also discussed the attempt to block the oil project during a call with US President Donald Trump. “The Prime Minister raised the economic consequences of Argentina’s coercive measures for the United Kingdom and the United States and reiterated the importance of respecting the right of islanders to develop their natural resources.” Burnham’s office said: “What are the latest developments? The strained relationship between the UK and Argentina remains strained and heavily focused on the Falkland Islands. Milei has capitalized on Trump’s refusal to say whether Washington would support the UK in a future conflict over the Falklands after the US president criticized London for not doing more to support the US during its attacks on Iran. In September, Milei said the “winds of change” were blowing in Argentina’s favor when it comes to its claims of “The United States is considering this change of position because it knows that Argentina has a reliable partner, aligned with Western values, in a strategically important position that can be a valuable ally in the coming decades,” Milei said. At the same time, Argentina is ready for an election next year, when the interruption of the Sea Lion project could help Milei’s electoral position. For Núñez, the court could have a “modest internal impact” in the country. “The case will be used as a political message in Argentina, Argentine voters tend to prioritize economic performance over developments in the sovereignty dispute.”
