UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband on Friday said that Falkland Islands will remain British by the islanders' choice after Argentine President Javier Milei said they "do not have a legitimate right to self-determination."
"The UK's position on the Falkland Islands is unwavering. The Islands are British and will remain so because that is the overwhelming position of the Islanders," Miliband wrote on US social media platform X.
He noted that islanders' right of self-determination is "paramount, grounded in international law," reaffirming that the UK will uphold it.
"Milei's statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands. The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British," Defense Secretary Wes Streeting also said.
He reiterated that their commitment to Falklands is "absolute and unshakeable."
Argentine President Javier Milei announced a series of executive and legislative measures on Thursday night aimed at blocking unauthorized offshore oil exploitation around the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas.
He described further resource extraction as a direct violation of national security.
Milei reaffirmed Argentina's territorial claim, asserting that the islands belong to the South American nation "historically and legally."
"The islands have been part of Argentine territory since the origins of our nation," Milei said. "In 1833, the United Kingdom occupied the Falklands, expelled the Argentine authorities, and established a colonial situation that continues to this day."
He added that the islanders "do not have a legitimate right to self-determination."
