In the lead-up to the official activities of the Argentine delegation in France—headed by President Javier Milei along with thirteen provincial governors seeking investments and strategic cooperation—Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno detailed the legal framework with which the Casa Rosada seeks to halt British oil development in the North Malvinas Basin.

The head of the San Martín Palace outlined the grounds that motivated the opening of the interstate arbitration procedure regulated in Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) , formally ordering the United Kingdom to stop all activities related to the Sea Lion project within a peremptory period of two weeks.

“If the United Kingdom does not decide to suspend exploitation in the Malvina Islands, we will go to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to obtain provisional measures to halt this situation , ” Quirno stated, marking a break in Argentina’s tradition of foreign litigation: “This is the first time that Argentina has submitted the Malvinas case to an international tribunal regarding hydrocarbon exploitation.”

The operational urgency: to stop the first barrel of 2028

Quirno located the need to resort to the jurisdictional headquarters of Hamburg (Germany) in the very schedules published by the consortium made up of the British Rockhopper Exploration and the Israeli Navitas Petroleum :

Pressure on banks, contractors, and global suppliers

The central focus of the external message was directed at the supply chain and the banking system that structures the credit leverage of oil companies. In response to the recent capital raising of USD 200 million reported by Rockhopper in the City of London, Quirno drew a dividing line for transnational boards of directors:

“They will have to decide between operating under illegitimate licenses in the Malvinas or operating in Argentina with the potential that this has , ” he warned, pointing to the assets of Vaca Muerta and the continental offshore .

The foreign minister extended the pressure to investment funds: “The financiers are also contributing precisely to making this exploitation possible.” Regarding the possibility that entities funding Navitas or Rockhopper might seek to channel loans to the State or companies based in the country, the minister warned that they will have to evaluate “what is their best business and what their interests are with respect to what Argentina is saying.” In that sense, he asserted that the main global companies in the sector have already indicated that they will avoid involvement in the islands so as not to risk their assets on the mainland.

Answers regarding the regional board and the internal plan

During his speech, Quirno addressed two other sensitive issues on the southern agenda:

1.   Chile's role and the Thales UK flights: Following the confirmation of criminal complaints regarding unauthorized flights by Thales UK between the Malvina Islands and Punta Arenas, the Foreign Minister reaffirmed the commitment signed on September 3 with Chilean President José Antonio Kast, who assured that he would not provide logistical support to the British operation . In response to differing statements from Chilean military commanders regarding the de facto occupation, he concluded: "The president's word trumps the minister's."

2.   Defense of the National Sovereignty Law: He called for the official bill currently before Congress to be debated, given the criticism from constitutional and journalistic sectors regarding the articles that establish penalties of 5 to 12 years for “mass disinformation.” Quirno dismissed the notion that it implies censorship: “The law does not seek any kind of restriction on freedom of expression; it has to be proven, and you have to prove that it affects public opinion on a massive scale,” arguing that contemporary conflicts over resources are not resolved “with bullets” but rather through economic, legal, and hybrid means of pressure.

With the diplomatic threat nearing its deadline and the federal court in Tierra del Fuego advancing the collective lawsuit with the inclusion of the Municipality of Río Grande, the Casa Rosada is seeking to close ranks in Europe. The tour of France tests the government's attempt to counter the allure of the continental basins with the reputational and legal costs of maintaining the colonial enclave in the South Atlantic.

Fountain:

Infobae