Tensions between Argentina and Britain over the disputed group of islands in the southwest Atlantic, called Islas Malvinas in Spanish, have increased recently.
In a televised speech, Milei now says he intends to build a new military base in Tierra del Fuego, in what is said to be a response to a British-Israeli oil project north of the Falkland Islands. The project has stirred up feelings in Argentina, which sees the islands - and any oil revenues from the surrounding waters - as its own. Milei promises swift sanctions against oil companies that drill outside the islands without Argentine permission.
"If we do not act decisively and quickly today, in a few months they will have the material capacity to seize the oil reserves that exist under our sea," the president said , according to La Nación .
Opening from Trump
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting responds on X that “The Falkland Islands are British because the Falkland Islanders choose to be British.”
“Our commitment to the Falkland Islands is absolute and unwavering,” he writes.
In 2013, the island group's then 2,000 inhabitants voted almost unanimously for the islands to remain British. But according to Milei, they have no right to decide that for themselves, as they live on occupied land.
All arguments based on referendums held on the islands are invalid, he says.
The move comes after US President Donald Trump, a close ally of Milei, hinted that the US may reevaluate its neutrality on the Falklands issue - because Britain "did not come to the US's aid" during the Iran war.
Uniting the people?
According to analysts The Wall Street Journal spoke to, it is not uncommon for Argentine leaders to use the Falklands to unite the people and boost their own popularity. In July, Milei's approval rating was 37 percent - a record low for the right-wing politician, the newspaper writes.
It is therefore not surprising that Milei is trying to take full advantage of the situation for political reasons, since he is in a difficult situation, says Michael Shifter at the Inter-American Dialogue think tank.
The Falkland Islands have been British since 1833. The government in Buenos Aires has claimed that they are occupied Argentine territory for just as long, a conflict that led to a two-month war over the islands in 1982. 649 Argentine and 255 British soldiers, as well as three civilian islanders, were killed.
