On Monday the 14th, the Tierra del Fuego government reported having sent " formal notes to the embassies of the Republic of Korea, the Kingdom of Spain, and the People's Republic of China in Argentina, expressing serious concern about the possible detection of vessels" from their countries " conducting illegal exploration or exploitation of natural resources in waters under provincial jurisdiction, particularly in the Malvina Islands area."

After obtaining copies of the documents sent to the Fuegian Legislature, Agenda Malvinas asked Dr. César for his opinion. Lerena, on the content of the notes that bear only the signature of the Secretary of the Malvinas, Andrés Dachary.

Lerena, Argentina's leading expert on the South Atlantic and fisheries , not only described them as " three irrelevant notes," but also harshly and thoroughly criticized the Fuegian official's concepts and assertions :

CESAR LERENA'S OPINION

IRRELEVANT NOTE FROM TIERRA DEL FUEGO ON ILLEGAL FISHING IN THE MALVINAS

A few days ago, the Secretary of the Malvinas, Antarctica, South Atlantic Islands and International Affairs of the Tierra del Fuego Province (AeIAS), Andrés Manuel Dachary, surprised us by sending notes to the ambassadors of China, Korea, and Spain in Argentina, regarding fishing by vessels flying those flags in the territorial sea (up to 12 miles) of the Malvinas archipelago. Incidentally, three irrelevant notes, with errors and omission of important issues relating to national and provincial sovereignty.

First of all, this provincial agent should be informed that a secretary of the Provincial Executive Power The AeIAS lacks any authority to address the aforementioned ambassadors on behalf of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, and the Provincial Executive Branch, that is, the Governor of the Province, should do so, preferably channeling the claim through the Argentine Foreign Ministry.

Assuming that his initiative had any value, his signature alone makes it irrelevant.

These letters generally state that the provincial government " has decided to intensify the control and protection of natural resources in the maritime spaces illegally occupied by the United Kingdom, particularly in the face of the growing presence of vessels that, without authorization from the competent Argentine authority - national or provincial - carry out illegal exploration and/or exploitation activities within the twelve (12) miles measured from the baselines of the Malvinas Islands" (sic).

In this regard, we would like to make the following comments:

In principle, it is neither " national nor provincial" (sic). Within 12 miles, the jurisdiction is provincial.

Aside from that, we do not understand how the Province would " intensify control and protection" (sic) when Tierra del Fuego AeIAS has never exercised any control in those provincial territories and does not have the operational capacity to do so, nor even to navigate those seas. At most, it could monitor transit through satellite systems; which, apparently, it has not used for the proper control and protection of resources, at least since the Provincialization of Tierra del Fuego, since the Secretary erroneously refers to "the growing presence of unauthorized vessels," when at least since 1976 and registered since 1989, the British islanders in the Malvinas have granted more than 200 illegal licenses to more than 110 vessels that illegally fish in Malvinas waters, an average of some 250,000 tons of Argentine fishing resources, that is, some $50 billion FOB from 1976 to date.

It took them about fifty years to react, and almost five years since November 18, 2020, when I indicated to the provincial government—during my brief tenure as an advisor to the Malvinas Observatory—that it should initiate legal action to request financial compensation for illegal fishing in the Malvinas. 

As for blaming China for illegal fishing, it should be noted that its vessels have not fished in the Malvinas since 2007. Assuming responsibility for illegal fishing by Taiwanese vessels is like blaming Argentina for vessels fishing in the Malvinas under the illegal and unrecognized Malvinas flag. The People's Republic of China has not been able to resolve the Taiwan Question. However, it expressed its support for Argentina's claim to sovereignty over the Malvina Islands when it established diplomatic relations with Argentina in 1972. This position was categorically reaffirmed in various international forums on November 12, 2020, when the Group of 77 + China at the 44th Annual Meeting of Foreign Ministers explicitly supported Argentina's claim, recognizing Argentina's right to take legal action against unauthorized activities on the islands. In February 2022, the China Media Group supported Argentina's claim and urged the United Kingdom to return the islands, reinforcing China's stance against colonialism. These expressions have remained constant since 1972. It is obvious that China cannot be held responsible for Taiwan's illegal fishing; in any case, Argentina should consider it pirate fishing, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The remaining notes addressed to Spain and South Korea have a similar text; however, the pleading text the secretary sent to the Spanish Embassy is astonishing when it says: " Bearing in mind Spain's historic position in favor of decolonization and in support of dialogue on the Malvinas issue, as well as the fact that the Kingdom of Spain has also been a direct victim of British colonialism, we appeal to your understanding regarding the need to adopt these measures in defense of the territorial integrity and natural resources of the more than 45 million Argentines" (sic). No, Mr. Secretary of the Malvinas Islands of Tierra del Fuego, none of this " we appeal to your understanding" (sic). The Argentine Republic became independent from Spain on July 9, 1816, and the Kingdom of Spain recognized this independence on February 15, 1825, and with it, Argentina's dominion and jurisdiction over all the territories that belonged to Spain until 1816, including the Malvinas Archipelago and its corresponding waters ( Principle of uti possidetis iuris "as you possess, So you must possess" that establishes that new States inherit the borders and territories of previous colonial entities ).

Furthermore, the Kingdom of Spain and its government have explicitly recognized Argentine sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and their corresponding waters when the European Economic Community signed the Fisheries Agreement between the Republic of Argentina and the European Economic Community (EEC) to fish in Argentine waters, subject to the regulations and conditions established in the agreement and in compliance with Argentine laws. ( National Law No. 24,315 of 5/6/1994) and, in addition to Res. 31/49, supported the various United Nations Resolutions . Spanish fishing vessels, associated or not with British islander capitals, are usurping Argentine resources and illegally fishing in Argentine waters and violating all Argentine civil and criminal legal norms.

Incidentally, the aforementioned complainant to the embassies has failed to cite Article 124 and the First Transitory Provision of the National Constitution; Articles 2, 54, 66, and 87 of the Constitution of the Province of Tierra del Fuego, and especially those relating to immigration resources; Law 23.775 on the Provincialization of Tierra del Fuego (AeIAS); national laws 22.415; 23.313; 23.968; 24.543; 24.922; 25.675; 26.386; 26.659; 26.776; 27.564; and the Fishing Law of the Province of Tierra del Fuego (AeIAS); all of which govern fishing and/or oil activities in national territories.

Furthermore, ignoring migration resources and limiting the situation to territorial waters would be contrary to the interests of Tierra del Fuego, since if Argentina were to regain full sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, it would be economically unviable if it did not retain the waters beyond the 12-mile limit.

When the so-called " Law of Sovereignty of the Sea " (No. 17,094) was passed on December 29, 1966 , it already referred to "that the current extractive activities of foreign vessels in Argentine waters constituted a serious fact... and that sovereignty should be one and indivisible" , extending by this law the Argentine Territorial Sea " up to a distance of 200 miles and, to the seabed and the subsoil of the submarine zones adjacent to its territory up to a depth of the overlying waters that allows the exploitation of the resources ...".

Additionally—but no less important—these catches produce an imbalance in the Argentine ecosystem, the consequences of which on the sustainability of species are invaluable and unpredictable. On the one hand, the Maximum Sustainable Yield determined annually by INIDEP does not take into account the volume caught through these illegal British licenses, and on the other, the internationalization of the sea by the United Kingdom has attracted a foreign fleet to the South Atlantic that preys on Argentine migratory resources in the High Seas, impacting the EEZ and territorial seas of the Patagonian coastal provinces.

It is also worth mentioning that the drop in loligo squid catches to 48,888 tonnes, which are caught by the Spanish in the Malvinas, could be due to the seismic exploration being carried out both in the Malvinas area (Sea Lion) and in the Austral marine basins; Malvinas Oeste and Cuenca Norte, a circumstance that should be of serious concern to the national government and that of Tierra del Fuego, since these explorations could significantly damage the larval and juvenile stages of the loligo squid, seriously affecting its biological cycle.

The Secretary, in addition to sending irrelevant notes, should be promoting the pertinent legal actions and, as the main responsible party, should be worrying about initiating legal actions in this regard and, that Article 2 of Law 23.775 of 1990 is still in force, which states: "With regard to Antarctica, the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia, the South Sandwich Islands and other sub-Antarctic islands, the new province is subject to treaties with foreign powers signed by the federal government, for the ratification of which it will not be necessary to consult the provincial government"; an article that violates the territorial integrity of Tierra del Fuego AeIAS and contrasts with the position held by Argentina in its claim to the Malvinas Islands of respecting the "national territorial integrity."

Dr. César Augusto Lerena

South Atlantic and Fisheries Expert – Former Secretary of State

President of the Agustina Lerena Foundation

President of the Center for Latin American Fisheries Studies (CESPEL)

www.cesarlerena.com.ar

July 23, 2025