By The Associated Press
Mount Tumbledown stands tall behind Stanley on the Falkland Islands, also known as Islas Malvinas, March 16. Ricardo Mazalan/AP

Argentine President Javier Milei escalated his country's dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands on Thursday, vowing new measures to halt an oil project near the British-controlled archipelago and praising U.S. President Donald Trump for suggesting that Washington could reconsider its neutral stance on the islands' sovereignty.

Milei's Remarks

Milei cast Trump's comments as proof that his close relationship with the U.S. president—criticized by political opponents as overly deferential—was paying dividends.

“

"The United States is considering this change in 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 decades to come," Milei said in a nationally televised speech.

Actions Against Oil Project

The Argentine leader announced sweeping actions aimed at stopping the development of the deep-sea Sea Lion oil project, located about 220 kilometers (140 miles) north of the islands. The project, led by British company Rockhopper Exploration and Israel's Navitas Petroleum, plans to begin drilling in the coming months and start pumping oil in 2028. Argentina considers the project an illegal exploitation of resources in waters it claims as its own.

Milei threatened tougher sanctions against companies involved in the offshore drilling and announced new funding for a naval base in Argentina's southernmost province of Tierra del Fuego to bolster the country's military presence near the islands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.

“

"Argentina will not stand idly by," Milei stated. "Any further advance on the Malvinas Islands will be considered a violation of our national security."

Political Context

Milei's effort to refocus attention on the Falklands is a striking turn for a leader who has faced criticism at home for warming ties with Britain and professing admiration for Margaret Thatcher, the British prime minister detested in Argentina for leading the campaign to retake the archipelago during the 1982 Falklands War. The conflict resulted in the deaths of 649 Argentine troops, 255 British service members, and three islanders, remaining a sore point in Argentina over four decades later.

The sovereignty claim is enshrined in Argentina's constitution and frequently invoked as an expression of national identity, from banknotes to World Cup soccer chants. It is also one of the few causes that cuts across the country's stark political divides, giving Milei, who is up for reelection next year, a welcome political opening as his approval ratings slip and the economy sputters.