UK rebuffs Milei on Falklands, vows to keep British control

Chloe Chaplain, Bloomberg News on Sep 4, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband reaffirmed British control over the Falklands, pushing back against renewed efforts by Argentine President Javier Milei to press longstanding claims to the South Atlantic island chain.

“The U.K.’s position on the Falkland Islands is unwavering,” Miliband wrote in a statement on social media. “The Islands are British and will remain so because that is the overwhelming position of the Islanders. Their right of self-determination is paramount, grounded in international law and we will resolutely uphold it.”

Milei threatened new sanctions on oil companies working in the region in an effort to assert his country’s claim to the islands, which are known in Argentina as the Malvinas. The Argentine president made the remarks in a national address on Thursday, after President Donald Trump hinted that the U.S. wouldn’t help the U.K. in any potential conflict over the islands.

The speech represented a departure from his previous position. His leftist predecessors regularly swore to take back the islands after Britain cemented control following a brief war in 1982.

“I want to be quite clear with everybody. The Falklands are Argentinian. Historically and legally,” Milei said. “There can be no argument. They are part of the Argentine territory. The islanders on their usurped territory do not have a legitimate right to self-determination and any argument on any such self-determination is invalid.”

He said the U.K. was facing “multiple crises on multiple fronts” and said he would sign decrees to introduce sanctions against any companies working on oil production in area. Milei’s own approval rating has fallen to near the lowest of his presidency, and taking up a nationalistic cause could help rally voters.

The push comes as a British-linked offshore energy project in the region known as Sea Lion moves toward production. A U.K. unit of Israel’s Navitas Petroleum owns a majority stake in the project, with British partner Rockhopper Exploration Plc holding the rest.

Navitas Petroleum shares dropped as much as 5.5% in Tel Aviv while Rockhopper shares plunged as much as 12% in London, their steepest drop since last December.

—With assistance from Joshua Gaunt-Warner.