Argentina moves to stop Falklands' first commercial oil project, escalating row with UK

FILE - Mount Tumbledown stands tall behind Stanley on the Falkland Islands, also known as Islas Malvinas, March 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan, File) Argentina on Tuesday said it has approached an international maritime tribunal seeking to halt an oil development project off the disputed Falkland Islands, escalating its dispute with the United Kingdom, which controls the archipelago. According to the office of President Javier Milei, Agrentina has filed a request for provisional measures with the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany, seeking to stop the development of Sea Lion, a $2.2-billion Israeli-British oil project north of the Falkland Islands, to “preserve Argentina’s sovereign rights.”Responding to Argentina's move, the UK accused Buenos Aires of taking “measures beyond its jurisdiction” and engaging in “economic coercion”.“The Sea Lion field lies on the Falkland Islands’ continental shelf. The project is lawful and regulated by the democratically elected Falkland Islands government. Argentina has no jurisdiction over it,” UK Foreign Minister Uma Kumaran told the House of Commons on Tuesday.“Let me be absolutely clear: This government will ...