Argentina’s President Javier Milei has proposed tougher sanctions against companies drilling for oil or conducting other activities affecting natural resources near the British-controlled Falkland Islands, while saying firms developing oil behind Argentina’s government would be barred from doing business in Argentina. The move intensified the sovereignty dispute and prompted Tan Dhesi, the Labour chair of the UK defence committee, to call for defence spending to reach 3% of GDP by 2030, an estimated additional £10bn annually. The British government reaffirmed that the islands would remain British for as long as their residents wanted them to, while saying no firm 2030 spending pledge had been made; its stated commitment is Nato’s 3.5% target by 2035. The developments followed Donald Trump’s suggestion that Washington could reconsider its traditional neutral position, which he linked to Britain’s limited support for US-led military operations. Milei also proposed a national security council and more funding for a naval base in Tierra del Fuego. Sea Lion operators Navitas Petroleum and Rockhopper Exploration said their licenses remained valid and the project was unaffected, although both companies’ shares fell sharply.