La presentación apunta a frenar la explotación unilateral de hidrocarburos en el área de las Islas Malvinas y se realizará ante el Tribunal Internacional del Derecho del Mar.
Buenos Aires, jueves 8 octubre (PR/26) — La Argentina avanzará la próxima semana con un pedido de medidas provisionales ante el Tribunal Internacional del Derecho del Mar para intentar frenar las actividades hidrocarburíferas que impulsa el Reino Unido en las Islas Malvinas. La presentación se realizará al vencer el plazo de dos semanas que había fijado el Gobierno nacional.
El Ejecutivo había intimado formalmente a Londres el 28 de septiembre para que adoptara medidas destinadas a impedir el inicio o la continuidad de esas actividades. En caso contrario, anticipó que recurriría al tribunal internacional con sede en Hamburgo.
El pedido no buscará que el organismo se pronuncie sobre la soberanía de las islas, cuestión que excede sus competencias, sino que analice si una de las partes puede avanzar por su cuenta con la explotación de recursos no renovables en un área cuya jurisdicción permanece en disputa.
La disputa por los hidrocarburos se sumó además a otros cruces recientes entre Buenos Aires y Londres. El Gobierno denunció vuelos de una empresa británica entre Punta Arenas y las islas sin autorización argentina y anunció procedimientos sancionatorios, denuncias penales y gestiones diplomáticas.
En paralelo, la administración de Javier Milei endureció las advertencias contra las compañías vinculadas al proyecto petrolero.
De acuerdo con el Gobierno, algunos proveedores comenzaron a apartarse de las operaciones ante la posibilidad de recibir sanciones en la Argentina.
Primicias Rurales
Fuente: https://www.labrujula24.com/
Versión en inglés
Malvinas Islands: Argentina to Seek Provisional Measures Against the United Kingdom Before International Tribunal (English version)
The filing is aimed at halting the unilateral exploitation of hydrocarbons in the Malvinas Islands area and will be submitted to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.
Source: La Brújula 24
Argentina will move forward next week with a request for provisional measures before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in an attempt to halt the hydrocarbon activities being pursued by the United Kingdom in the Malvinas Islands area. The filing will be made after the expiration of the two-week period set by the Argentine Government.
The claim focuses particularly on the Sea Lion project, located in the North Malvinas Basin, where Navitas Petroleum and Rockhopper Exploration have announced plans to begin oil production in 2028.
On September 28, the Argentine Executive Branch formally demanded that London take measures to prevent the start or continuation of those activities. Otherwise, the government announced that it would turn to the international tribunal, which is headquartered in Hamburg, Germany.
The legal strategy is based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno explained that this would be the first time Argentina has brought before an international tribunal a dispute concerning the unilateral exploitation of natural resources in the Malvinas Islands area.
The request will not seek a ruling on sovereignty over the islands, a matter that falls outside the tribunal’s jurisdiction. Instead, Argentina intends to ask whether one party may unilaterally proceed with the exploitation of non-renewable resources in an area whose jurisdiction remains disputed.
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is composed of 21 judges. Under UNCLOS, the tribunal may prescribe provisional measures in certain circumstances before the arbitral tribunal constituted under the Convention has been established. Argentina’s current strategy is to seek such measures while the broader arbitration proceeds.
Argentina previously appeared before the tribunal in 2012 in connection with the detention of the ARA Libertad in Ghana. In that case, the tribunal ordered the vessel’s release.
The hydrocarbon dispute has also added to a series of recent confrontations between Buenos Aires and London. The Argentine Government has denounced flights operated by a British company between Punta Arenas, Chile, and the Malvinas Islands without Argentine authorization, and has announced administrative sanctioning proceedings, criminal complaints and diplomatic measures.
Meanwhile, the administration of President Javier Milei has intensified its warnings against companies linked to the oil project. According to the Argentine Government, some suppliers have begun withdrawing from the operations because of the possibility of facing sanctions in Argentina.
Legal and diplomatic context
On September 28, President Milei instructed Argentina’s Foreign Ministry and government legal teams to initiate the Annex VII arbitration procedure under UNCLOS, with the stated aim of preventing what Argentina considers the illegitimate exploitation of hydrocarbons in the North Malvinas Basin through the Sea Lion project. The official statement also referred to preventing further measures that could aggravate the dispute, including the granting of new permits to exploit natural resources on Argentina’s continental shelf.
The Argentine Government has emphasized that the arbitration concerns the unilateral exploitation of hydrocarbon resources, rather than seeking a judicial determination of the underlying sovereignty dispute.
The United Kingdom, for its part, has rejected Argentina’s position and maintains that hydrocarbon activities in the Malvinas Islands are lawful and that the islanders have the right to develop their natural resources.
Source: La Brújula 24, with additional information from the Government of Argentina, the Argentine Foreign Ministry and other cited reports.
Primicias Rurales
Traducción: María Marta Cafiero
