Argentina demands halt to Falklands oil project at Hamburg tribunal

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headline: Argentina demands halt to Falklands oil project at Hamburg tribunal

summary: Argentina told an international tribunal in Hamburg that Britain's approval of oil drilling off the Falklands must be suspended, escalating a sovereignty fight that went to war in 1982. The Sea Lion project, led by Navitas and Rockhopper, could triple the islands' GDP per capita. Britain says the court has no business ruling on sovereignty.

body: Argentina walked into the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg on Tuesday and asked it to freeze a British-approved oil project off the Falkland Islands. It is the first time substantive matters tied to the Falklands have been litigated at an international tribunal, and the two-day hearing is chaired by Judge Maurice Kamga of Cameroon. Argentina wants urgent provisional measures, including a UK commitment to stop the drilling.

Javier Oyarzábal, chief legal adviser to Argentina's foreign ministry, said the 3,400 islanders have no right to the resources around the south Atlantic archipelago, though he said Argentina respects their interests and way of life under its constitution. The resources, he argued, belong to Argentina's 46 million people, including the 1,247 islanders born there. He accused Britain of refusing talks on sovereignty while pressing ahead with resource exploitation, telling the panel: the UK cannot have it both ways.

At the centre of the fight is Sea Lion in the North Falkland basin, run by Israeli firm Navitas with British partner Rockhopper. The project has the potential to triple the islands' GDP per capita, and Argentina's president, Javier Milei, has called it unlawful. Buenos Aires argues Britain's approval, with drilling set to start in March next year, breaches a 1976 UN resolution urging both sides to avoid unilateral action until the sovereignty dispute is settled, and branded the approval the unilateral conduct of a colonial power, according to The Guardian. Oyarzábal also claimed oil money would finance the military base and presence sustaining UK control of the territory, and that Argentina was ready to negotiate all aspects of the question, including the aggravation caused by the UK. Argentina further warned of an environmental disaster on its doorstep, saying a blowout or spill would hit Argentina, not a state 12,700km away, and noting the project sits inside the search and rescue region Argentina is responsible for. He said the dispute would become more difficult or impossible to settle peacefully, while suspending drilling would do no more than preserve the present situation and open the door to talks. ]