Argentina rejects UK criticism about Falkland Islands arbitration

Argentina rejected British criticism Thursday of its decision to seek international arbitration about oil exploration around the Falkland Islands, which Buenos Aires calls Islas Malvinas.

It said an independent international tribunal is the appropriate mechanism to resolve the dispute peacefully.

“Nothing has to be feared from submitting a dispute to an impartial international tribunal,” Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno said in a statement on US social media platform X.

Quirno said Buenos Aires rejected Britain's characterization of the arbitration as an attempt to “undermine” the rights of Falkland Islanders.

Argentina said resorting to arbitration under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is a legal procedure accepted by both countries and argued that international legal mechanisms provide the appropriate framework for resolving disputes.

The statement came one day after British Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Overseas Territories Uma Kumaran defended London's position on the Falkland Islands.

“The Falkland Islands are British,” Kumaran said on X, reaffirming the UK's support for the islanders' right to self-determination.

She described Argentina's decision to pursue arbitration on the Sea Lion oil project as an attempt to “undermine” the rights and livelihoods of Falkland Islanders.

Kumaran also said the islanders have the right to develop their natural resources without intimidation, coercion or interference.

Argentina rejected the application of self-determination in the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute and said unilateral British oil and gas exploration activities in the disputed area violate UN resolutions.

Buenos Aires also reaffirmed its willingness to resume negotiations with London to address the sovereignty dispute through diplomatic channels.

Argentina announced Monday that it had initiated arbitration proceedings under UNCLOS because of the Sea Lion project, involving oil exploration in waters around the Falkland Islands.

The government said the proceedings seek to challenge what it considers unlawful British exploitation of hydrocarbon resources in the disputed area.

The UK maintains that its activities around the islands comply with international law and has defended the rights of the islanders to determine their own political future and develop their natural resources.