In a subsequent interview with GB News, Trump implied that the wavering support for Britain's claim to the Falklands was linked to its failure to support the US war with Iran. Trump remarked that although he did not need help with the military campaign, Britain had not been there to support him. He claimed that former British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that they had no ships to send in support of the American war effort.
Milei States Argentina's Case
Opening his address yesterday evening, Milei stated the Argentine position.
"The Falkland Islands are Argentine, by history and by law. There is no debate about this", Milei claimed, adding: "The islands have been part of Argentine territory since the origins of our nation."
Milei argued that the United Kingdom in 1833 established a "colonial situation" on the Falklands that continues to the present day. The implication, as Milei set out, is that the modern islanders are a population "implanted in a usurped territory" who do not have a legitimate right to self-determination. As a result, the Argentine position is that the UK's claims based on referendums held on the islands are invalid.
Milei claimed that the United States' potential shift stems from its recognition that Argentina is a reliable partner in the Western Hemisphere, aligned with "western values" and occupying a "strategically important position".
To that point, US Under Secretary of State Sarah B. Rogers posted a picture of herself with Milei ahead of his address on social media site X with the caption: "Exciting things are happening in the Western Hemisphere."
However, Milei said that Argentina's claim to the Falklands faces a "new danger", highlighting the United Nations request that neither Argentina nor the UK take unilateral actions concerning the islands until the territorial dispute is resolved, including the exploitation of its natural resources.
"The United Kingdom has consistently ignored this call", Milei alleged.
"In particular, we have determined that the Sea Lion project, operated by Navitas Petroleum and Rockhopper Exploration, is scheduled to begin offshore oil production sometime in the coming months. What does this mean? It means that if we do not act firmly and swiftly today, in just a few months they will have the means to seize the oil reserves lying beneath our sea, something that has never happened before", he said.
The Sea Lion project's first oil production is currently scheduled for March 2028.
In response, the Argentine president announced that the state would be taking steps to deter state and non-state actors from engaging in what he referred to as the violation of Argentine sovereignty.
Foremost among the measures announced was the signing of a decree to expedite sanctions against oil companies operating in the Falklands, as well as those companies' shareholders, directors and suppliers.
According to Milei, he will also sign an emergency decree expanding the resources of the Ministry of Defense, with its priority objective being the construction of a naval base in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, the closest point of Argentine territory to the Falklands. Milei described the planned base as key to Argentina's "geopolitical projection".
Britain Bites Back
British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting responded to Milei's address on social media, writing on X that the UK's commitment to the Falklands is "absolute" and "unshakable".
Streeting wrote that Milei's speech said more about domestic politics in Argentina than about the Falkland Islands.
"The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British", Streeting asserted.
Meanwhile, the UK's Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband echoed Streeting's remarks, describing the British position on the Falklands as "unwavering".
"The Islands are British and will remain so because that is the overwhelming position of the Islanders", Miliband wrote, adding, "their right of self-determination is paramount, grounded in international law and we will resolutely uphold it".
Support for the "Malvinas Cause" among Argentinians remains very high, with recent polling suggesting that four out of five Argentinians are in favor of their country's sovereignty claim over the islands without making any concessions to the UK.
Earlier this year, Argentine football players caused controversy at the World Cup when they held up a banner saying "the Falklands are Argentinian" after beating England 2-1 in the semi-final.
Meanwhile, Falkland Islanders are overwhelmingly in favor of remaining a British Overseas Territory. A 2013 referendum found that 99.8% of Falklands voters were in favor, with just three votes against.
The two countries have clashed militarily over the islands. The Falklands War was a brief conflict that began when Argentine forces invaded the islands in April 1982, prompting a military response from the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher to reclaim them.
The British campaign lasted just 10 weeks and was ultimately successful. The undeclared war left 649 Argentinians, 255 Britons and three islanders dead.
