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Argentina asks maritime tribunal to stop Sea Lion oil development

Argentina requested provisional measures against oil development near the Falkland/Malvinas Islands after its deadline for British action expired. The Sea Lion project has approval from the islands’ government and British backing. Buenos Aires’ legal request accompanies sanctions and a domestic bill, while London continues to defend the islanders’ wishes to remain British.

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Buenos Aires seeks a halt to the project

Argentina has brought its dispute with Britain over oil exploration near the Falkland/Malvinas Islands before an international maritime tribunal. Buenos Aires is seeking provisional measures to halt development at Sea Lion. The request adds a legal proceeding to the disagreement over exploitation of resources in the waters around the islands, whose sovereignty Argentina and Britain dispute.[1], [2]

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the international court hearing maritime-law disputes, received the request after Argentina’s two-week deadline for British action expired on Monday. Britain did not stop the project. The islands’ government has approved Sea Lion, which involves British company Rockhopper Exploration and its Israeli partner Navitas Petroleum. Drilling is scheduled to begin early next year. Argentina claims that the maritime area north of the islands belongs to its continental shelf. That position remains Argentina’s claim in the dispute.[1]

Britain maintains its backing

The provisional-measures request forms part of arbitration Argentina initiated on September 28 under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Argentine government says it seeks to preserve sovereign rights and prevent unilateral activities from deepening the dispute. Britain rejected the decision and reaffirmed support for the islanders’ wishes to remain British. Prime Minister Andy Burnham repeated that position in the House of Commons on Monday. The request has been made, but no tribunal ruling granting or refusing the measures was reported.[1]

Sanctions bill reaches Argentina’s lawmakers

President Javier Milei announced sanctions against the companies and associated businesses or shareholders in September. A commission in Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies is scheduled to discuss the government’s national-sovereignty defence bill on Wednesday. It seeks tougher penalties for companies extracting natural resources without Argentine authorization. Opposition objections also concern defence, security and intelligence reforms in the same proposal. The proposed National Security Council would be chaired by the president and include ministers and the intelligence-agency head. The bill places resource sanctions and domestic security changes in one legislative package.[1]

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References

  1. News sourceBuenos Aires HeraldArgentina asks maritime tribunal to halt Sea Lion oil development↩1↩2↩3↩4
  2. News sourceBBC NewsArgentina brings Falklands oil dispute before maritime tribunal↩
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