Tensions between Argentina and Britain over the disputed archipelago, called Las Malvinas in Spanish, have risen recently.
In a televised speech on Friday evening, Swedish time, Milei said he intends to build a new military base in Tierra del Fuego. The decision comes after a British-Israeli project to drill for oil off the Falkland Islands was announced.
"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," Milei said, according to La Nacion.
Argentina will also impose sanctions on oil companies that drill off the islands without permission from Argentina.
Opening from Trump
Milei is a close ally of US President Donald Trump, who has previously said that the US may reevaluate its neutrality on the Falkland Islands issue.
In 2013, the then 2,000 residents 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.
Uniting the people
According to analysts the Wall Street Journal spoke to, it is not uncommon for Argentine presidents to use the Falkland Islands to unite the people.
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.
Support for Milei was 37 percent in July - a record low for the right-wing politician, the newspaper writes.
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.
