UK PM Burnham raises Malvinas oil project in call with Trump

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham discussed Argentina's bid to block a UK-Israeli oil project near the disputed Malvinas (Falkland) Islands and its "economic consequences" in a call Friday with US President Donald Trump.

President Javier Milei's government last week asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to block the joint hydrocarbon exploration project off Malvinas coast, in the latest spat over the territory's sovereignty.

Britain and Argentina fought a brief but bitter 10-week war in 1982 over the South Atlantic islands, known to Argentines as Las Islas Malvinas and to the UK as the Falkland Islands, which failed to change its status as a UK-administered territory.

The islanders themselves voted overwhelmingly in 2013 to remain British. But Argentina rejects that outcome, arguing that the principle of self-determination does not apply to a population it considers implanted by Britain after 1833.

President Javier Milei has doubled down on his country's claim since Trump suggested he was open to reviewing Washington's stance on them.

Milei's administration has notably targeted the Sea Lion oil project – led by Britain's Rockhopper and Israel's Navitas – arguing that it violates a UN resolution calling for both sides to desist from unilateral actions until their dispute is resolved.

The right-wing leader has also backed a bill that would ban the development of any natural resources in without authorisation from Buenos Aires, raising the penalty set out in an older law.

London has been adamant that the islands will remain British and that the islands have the right to develop their natural resources "as they see fit".

In their call Friday, Burnham and Trump "discussed the Sea Lion project," Downing Street said in a readout of the conversation.

"The prime minister raised the economic consequences of Argentina's coercive measures for the UK and US and reiterated the importance of respecting the islanders' right to develop their natural resources."

Burnham's office did not provide further details about the purported impact of Argentina's recent move.

Its request submitted to ITLOS "seeks to preserve Argentina's sovereign rights" and "prevent activities authorised unilaterally and illegally by the United Kingdom from exacerbating the dispute recognised by the United Nations," according to a presidential statement last week.

The court based in Hamburg, Germany, issues binding rulings.