In 1998 Carlos Menem He was the first – and so far only – Argentine president to visit the United Kingdom after the Malvinas War. The aim of the trip was to seal the climate of “carnal relations” with the Western axis of power in full neoliberal upswing. 27 years later, Argentina is looking to London again. But this time the diplomatic photo exists with an unpleasant fact: during the president Javier Milei is planning an official visit in 2026 and even hints at an interest in meeting Nigel Farage – Symbol of conservative international—, Foreign Ministry condemned a new move “one-sided and illegitimate“in oil production in the Sea lion pool north of the islands Falkland Islands.
The announcement was made this Thursday Rockhopper exploration (British) and Navitas Petroleum (Israeli), a consortium known to Argentine diplomacy. By the time Menem landed at Heathrow in 1998, other British companies were already operating illegally on Argentina’s continental shelf, protected by licenses issued by the island’s government, in open violation of UN Resolution 31/49 and national and regional laws. A Déjà vu The new edition is based on the La Libertad Avanza government’s rapprochement with the US security umbrella, albeit in a different geopolitical context.
Context: Milei’s trip to London, British veto and a new direction
Milei’s statements to the British media The Telegraph Just a day before the start of exploitation of the northern basin north of Soledad Island was announced, an unexpected chapter was opened: Argentina would negotiate with the United Kingdom to lift the veto that has prevented it from importing weapons with British components since 1982.
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“Absolutely”, The president responded to a question about whether discussions had already begun about easing these restrictions by the Defense Department. Although Downing Street denied this, it acknowledged that there were “bilateral dialogues” on defense cooperation that would continue in 2026.
The moment is not insignificant. The government has just received the Danish F-16 fighter jets with support from Washington, deactivating the offer of the Chinese-origin JF Thunder – according to the findings PROFILEsparked consultations and unrest in Beijing over Argentina’s defense strategy amid a global struggle. A kind of relaunch of the Monroe Doctrine – as defined by the expert Juan Gabriel Tokatlian in a seminar sponsored last week by the National University of Tres de Febrero – but now under the leadership of Trumpism and with Milei aligned with the United States and Israel.
Meanwhile, the president expects an official trip to the United Kingdom, is seeking a meeting with the architect of Brexit and is even offering a meeting with the Labor Party. Keir Starmer – who recognized a “personal” connection with the Malvina cause right from the start of his term – stands in contrast to traditional sovereignist discourses. “Demonstrating a business relationship between adults,” Milei said, “is the best way to show Argentine will.”
The other side: Foreign Ministry rejects León Marino’s oil production
While Milei was writing this new geopolitical script, the State Department released a statement expressing its “strongest opposition.” final investment decision announced by Rockhopper and Navitas to advance the development of León Marino (Sea Lion), located in the northern Malvinas Basin, 220 kilometers from continental Argentina and with a projection of 4 billion dollars in taxes and royalties that flow into the Kelper administration’s coffers during the useful life of the deposit.
A decision that the British company celebrated Frontiers & Southern Petroleumalso approved by the Argentine state, which claimed that the offshore exploration “represents the first step towards establishing the Malvinas Islands as an oil and gas producing region.”
“The new announcements regarding the intention to start hydrocarbon extraction in disputed areas represent a new unilateral act with potentially irreversible future effects, taking into account that these are non-renewable natural resources,” said the statement from the portfolio led by Pablo Quirno.
Javier Milei announced that negotiations are underway with Great Britain to lift the veto on arms sales to Argentina
In addition, international law that protects Argentina’s position is highlighted, such as UN Resolution 31/49, which prohibits unilateral changes while negotiations on the sovereignty of the South Atlantic archipelago continue; In addition, there were violations of Argentine legislation, in particular laws 26,659 and 26,915.
Both companies have already been sanctioned in the past: Rockhopper was declared underground in 2012 and banned for 20 years; Navitas received the same sanction in 2022after operating on Argentine territory without authorization. In the statement, the State Department warned that all actors – companies, suppliers, insurers and investors – were subject to administrative, judicial and operational sanctions.
The claim of Tierra del Fuego: the call of the Federal Council of Malvinas
The ongoing illegal exploitation of the Malvinas also raised concerns among the Tierra del Fuego government, where unrest has been raging for months over the government’s “lack of strategy” towards the usurped archipelago, which accounts for 25% of the national territory.
With that in mind, this Thursday Andres Dachary, Government official Gustavo Melellacalled for the “urgent convening” of the National Council of Malvinas – which, as these media learned, has been postponed indefinitely – and called for a unified response from the nation-state. His message was direct: the impending commercial mining in Sea Lion constitutes a “material plunder” of resources from Tierra del Fuego and Argentina in general, and deserves the introduction of criminal and administrative sanctions to stop the “plunder.”
According to the island government, the agreement between Rockhopper and Navitas has already received full approval from the Malvinas Executive Council. Phase 1, which involves extraction 170 million barrels by 2028requires an investment of $1.8 billion and could reach a maximum production of 50,000 barrels per day. Phase 2 targets an additional 149 million barrels. In total, the estimated 2C resource is 917 million barrels: a figure that explains both the interest of oil majors and Argentina’s strategic concern in a delicate geopolitical context based on the forecast for Antarctica.
The project is presented as a development milestone for the British island administration offshore while the government denounced unilateralism that violates international law. For Ushuaia, a turning point that requires the transition from diplomatic claims to concrete legal disputes.
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Between Menem and Milei: different contexts, same orientation
When Menem smiled in front of the British Parliament in 1998, there were already oil companies operating without authorization on the Argentine platform. The difference is that the bilateral climate back then was openly cooperative and Argentina sought to consolidate its Western integration based on the unipolar moment after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Almost three decades later, Milei outlined a similar shift in foreign policy in the name of “freedom” and “alliance with the free world,” even as the illegal escalation of resource exploitation and the militarization of the South Atlantic continued, including the five military exercises conducted by the United Kingdom in Malvinas in 2025 in violation of international regulations.
Meanwhile, Malvinas continues to be a thorn in the president’s side, Depending on some failed and other measures: from the mention of “the wishes” of the islanders in his speech on April 2nd; B. the numerous votes at the United Nations or the relocation of the Argentine embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, measures that surprised both local and foreign diplomats due to Argentina’s position in the EU Decolonization Committee and other multilateral bodies.
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