Javier Milei has demanded a Hong Kong-style transfer of the Falklands to Argentina as part of what he called a “consensus solution”.
Argentina’s president insisted his compatriots “do not believe in war” and “would not shout like savages” over the controversial archipelago.
His comments were published in an interview after his nationalist TV speech on Thursday evening, in which he announced plans for a new military base in Tierra del Fuego – the part of Argentina closest to the Falklands.
He also warned of sanctions that would stop companies from drilling for oil off the Falklands, while insisting the islanders have no right to self-determination.
Mr Milei added that Britain is “on a path of decline” with social, economic and immigration problems.
In his interview with The Economist, he cited the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed in 1984 in which the United Kingdom finally Hong-Kong Unpleasant China in 1997.
Controversially, Hong Kong citizens were never able to vote on this issue.
The Argentine president said: ‘The United Kingdom did this to Hong Kong, so why not find an agreement so that sooner or later the islands return to Argentina? They are ours.’
In a televised address today, President Javier Milei increased tensions with Britain over the Falklands. Warning sanctions will be imposed for offshore oil drilling
While Hong Kong became part of China’s national territory, it was able to maintain its own laws and political system for fifty years, which will end in 2047.
But China has been widely accused of violating the agreement with its authoritarian regime, which suppresses political dissent and public protests.
Milei’s interview took place ahead of his TV address to the nation on Thursday, but was published afterwards.
In his somber speech from the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, the incendiary leader, flanked by his cabinet, declared: “The islands are ours, by history and by law, and they were taken from us.”
Mr Milei told his country that Mr Trump was helping to bring about a “wind of change” favorable to his Falklands claim, after the US president hinted he would not support Britain if Argentina invaded again because of Sir Keir Starmer’s failure to back his war with Iran.
Andy Burnham has not yet commented, but Defense Secretary Wes Streeting hit back by insisting that the UK’s commitment to the Falklands is “absolute and unwavering”, amid ongoing concerns about the country’s ability to defend the islands as it did in 1982.
That became apparent on Thursday evening the army is being forced to cancel training exercises in a bid to save £30m amid Labour’s refusal to increase defense spending.
Mr Streeting said: ‘Milei’s statement tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina overnight than it does about the Falkland Islands. The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British. Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unwavering.”
Senior minister and Burnham ally Lucy Powell said the Argentine president was “just posturing” ahead of his country’s elections. But former Foreign Office chief Lord McDonald told the BBC that Labor should review Britain’s Falklands policy and open diplomatic talks with Argentina over the future of the islands, citing the cost of defending them and their distance from Britain.
Mr Milei, who once praised Margaret Thatcher as one of “the great leaders in the history of mankind”, said last night that Argentina “will prevail” in its bid to reclaim the Falklands because Britain is “on a path of decline”, beset by “multiple crises”, including social, economic and immigration problems.
‘The wind in the world is currently blowing in favor of our claim. President Trump announced that the US is reevaluating its historic position on the Malvinas, he said.
The US has historically taken a neutral position on the Falklands, but Trump (pictured in 2025 with Milei) has hinted that they may revise this position. The men have become friends and allies
Mr. Milei, who is still a year away from elections and a slump in the polls, said Argentina must “recapture these islands” and “use all the instruments of the state: diplomatic, economic, legal and judicial” to hinder drilling in the Sea Lion oil field, which contains 1.7 billion barrels of oil.
He made no mention of military action but announced that his government would issue an immediate emergency decree to build a naval base on Tierra del Fuego, the Argentine coastline closest to the Falklands, which has been in British hands for centuries.
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch blamed the Argentine threats on the government’s plans to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
She said: ‘Javier Milei claims to admire Margaret Thatcher, but forget this lesson: Britain does not surrender to bullies. If he wants a stronger Argentina, he must build his economy and not threaten others.
‘But there is also a lesson here for our sleepy Labor government. The madness of the surrender of the Chagos Islands means that other countries are now trying their luck. If we do not defend our own interests, whether in energy or territory, others will be happy to exploit that weakness.’
