Argentina has sparked fresh fears of land grab over a potential threat to the country’s sovereignty in the Falklands and surrounding seas.
Raising concerns about the recent international policies carried out by President Javier Milei, Pulti, Buenos Aires MP Gustavo Pulti criticised an agreement between Argentina and the British Foreign Office, which he claims allows the British to operate in Argentine waters without any oversight or supervision.
He expressed concern about the growing British presence, noting, “We are in danger of losing sovereignty in the sea and the Malvinas Islands due to Foreign Minister Sergio Andrés Mondino.”
Pulti highlighted several actions by the UK that he believes threaten Argentina’s control, including the January visit by British officials to the Malvinas, “the first Foreign Secretary in history to set foot on the islands.”
This visit by the Foreign Secretary, he believes, confirms that they are “part of the British family,” reinforcing the UK’s sovereignty claim.
He argued that this move, combined with oil exploration and the construction of a British port in the region, reflects the UK’s geopolitical ambitions.
The deputy pointed to a bilateral agreement signed in June, seemingly for biological preservation. He claimed that “it only aims to confuse” as it restricts Argentina’s authority over the seas and hands power to smaller states aligned with the UK.
“Faced with this exploitation of our oil in our sea, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said nothing. The restriction on fishing and navigation is in force, the construction of the port is in force, oil exploration is in force and the agreement signed by Mondino is in force, now we depend on the rejection of it by the National Congress,” he warned.
Pulti added, “If Congress does not reject it, we will not only lose unilateral sovereignty as we have it and must preserve it but also resign it to a group of states and NGOs.
“Moreover, that agreement is irrevocable; we will be part of international pacts that we cannot renounce even by law later on; this is what is happening.”