ARGENTINIAN LEADER JAVIER Milei has said that “winds of change” favour his country’s claim to the Falkland Islands, pointing to Washington’s readiness to review its neutrality on his country’s dispute with Britain as a possible game-changer.

Britain and Argentina fought a 10-week war over the South Atlantic archipelago, which Argentines refer to as Las Malvinas, in 1982.

The fate of the islands hit headlines again in recent days, with US President Donald Trump threatening to wade into the dispute and a British-Israeli oil project near the islands causing anger in Argentina.

In an address on national TV, Milei assured Argentina would not “stand idly by” in the face of the project and announced sanctions on firms linked to oil extraction “in Argentine territory under British occupation.”

“There are winds of change in the world that are favourable to our claim,” he said, alluding to Trump’s threat to withdraw support for Britain’s sovereignty.

Milei said: “I want to be quite clear with everybody. The Falklands are Argentinean. Historically and legally.

“There can be no argument. They are part of the Argentine territory.

“The islanders on their usurped territory do not have a legitimate right to self-determination and any argument on any such self-determination is invalid.”

Argentina players hold up a banner with the words 'Las Malvinas son Argentinas' during the World Cup Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said this morning that the Falkland Islands “are British” and that the UK’s commitment to them was “absolute and unshakeable”.

“The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British,” Streeting said on social media

Control of the Falklands is a highly emotive issue in Argentina, even though the islanders themselves voted overwhelmingly in 2013 to remain British. In that referendum, 99.8% of roughly 1,500 voters voted in favour of British rule while just three people opposed it. 

Argentina players held up a banner saying “The Falklands are Argentine” after beating England 2-1 in the World Cup semi-final earlier this year.

On Tuesday, Argentine Falklands War veterans and environmental lawyers filed a lawsuit to halt the project, which is promoted by the British company Rockhopper and the Israeli company Navitas.

Milei said the project violated a United Nations resolution calling on both sides to desist from unilateral actions in the islands.

“If we allow it, we will be creating an incentive for the British government to deepen the occupation of the islands and the exploitation of our resources,” he said.

He added that companies involved in Falklands’ projects “behind the back of the Argentine government” would be barred from operating in Argentine territory.

His address came as his approval ratings plummet, just over a year before he seeks re-election.

Polls show only around 34% of Argentines supporting his drastic belt-tightening and deregulation policies.

Trump’s announcement on Monday that the United States is reviewing its position on the Falkland Islands came amid reports Washington is threatening to oppose Britain’s sovereignty if it does not increase defence spending.

In an interview on Thursday with the British network GB News, Trump criticised London’s lack of military support for his war with Iran and refused to confirm whether he would back Britain in a potential new dispute with Argentina.

The last war in 1982 “was a long time ago,” he remarked.

“The Falklands issue serves Trump’s purpose of pressuring the United Kingdom to comply with his demands regarding NATO funding and cooperation in the war in Iran,” Tomas Mugica, director of the Center for International Studies at the Catholic University of Argentina, told AFP.

With reporting from AFP and Press Association