The growing diplomatic and legal polarization between Argentina and the United Kingdom over control of the North Malvina Basin prompted the first public statement from the Donald Trump administration. In remarks given to the British network GB News , the newly appointed US ambassador to the United Nations , Mike Waltz , called for a de-escalation of the bilateral confrontation and avoided automatically aligning himself with the militaristic rhetoric employed days earlier in New York by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

When asked directly what stance the Pentagon would take in the event of an armed conflict and whether the White House would provide military assistance to Great Britain in the South Atlantic, Waltz chose to distance himself and refer any decision to the Oval Office .

“That’s a decision for the commander-in-chief. I think we would look to de-escalate before going that far. In terms of any kind of support beyond that, I’ll leave it to the White House and the president , ” the US diplomat stated, flatly rejecting any automatic logistical or military support for the British armed forces.

Diplomatic balance and a brake on the libertarian narrative

Waltz 's definitions exhibit the classic exercise in strategic balancing of American diplomacy, but they acquire a particular interpretation in light of the expectations generated by the government of Javier Milei :

The pressure of resources and the judicial labyrinth

The US ambassador's statement comes in a context where the dispute has moved beyond traditional rhetoric:

1.   The UNCLOS route: While the two-week deadline demanded by Milei before going to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Hamburg to request precautionary measures against the Sea Lion project is running out, the attempt to add the White House as a facilitating arbitrator clashes with Washington's reluctance to pay political costs with its main Anglo-Saxon ally.

2.   The corporate front: Waltz 's warning coincides with the acceleration of oil business reported by Rockhopper Exploration —which announced the purchase of the FPSO OSX-1 to double daily pumping by 2030— and with the criminal offensive in Comodoro Py, where judges Ariel Lijo and Julián Ercolini issued letters rogatory to the United Kingdom and Israel to identify the directors of the operators.

3.   The internal contradiction: Simultaneously, the Argentine domestic front remains shaken after the criminal complaint filed by the Office of Administrative Investigations (PIA) against the Energy leadership for having incorporated the British company Harbour Energy —a partner of Sea Lion in the past under the firm Premier Oil —into the RIGI , highlighting the cracks between the sovereign preaching abroad and the economic concessions granted on the continent.

By publicly calling for "de-escalation," Washington seeks to contain a controversy that threatens to destabilize the maritime security architecture in the Southern Cone. While London insists on maintaining the colonial status quo and Buenos Aires pushes the limits of international legal action, the United States reaffirms that its priority is not to endorse the British military adventure or hand an automatic diplomatic victory to the liberal administration, but rather to preserve its own interests in a South Atlantic whose underlying dispute remains open and unresolved.