Argentina Seeks Maritime Tribunal Order to Halt Falklands Oil Activity

Argentina said on October 13 that it had requested provisional measures from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to halt British-authorized hydrocarbon activity on the continental shelf of the northern Falklands basin. The presidential office said the request seeks to preserve the sovereign rights Argentina claims and prevent activities from aggravating the dispute. It forms part of the arbitration proceeding Argentina says it began on September 28 under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In its September 18 statement, the British government said Falkland islanders have the right to develop their natural resources and backed businesses operating there.