MOSCOW (AFP) — Britain’s defense secretary said Friday that London’s commitment to the Falkland Islands was “absolute and unshakeable” after Argentine President Javier Milei renewed claims to the British overseas territory.

Britain and Argentina fought a 10-week war in 1982 over the South Atlantic islands, a British overseas territory which Argentines call Las Malvinas.

“The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British,” Defense Secretary Wes Streeting said on social media following a nationally televised address by Milei in which he said the “winds of change” favored Argentina’s claim to the islands.

“Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unshakeable,” said Streeting, suggesting that the statement by Milei — whose approval ratings are plummeting — was a result of “domestic politics.”

Milei on Thursday pointed to Washington’s readiness to review its neutrality on his country’s territorial dispute with Britain.

United States President Donald Trump announced Monday that the US was reviewing its position on the Falkland Islands, amid reports Washington is threatening to oppose Britain’s sovereignty in the region if it does not increase defense spending.

In an interview Thursday with the British network GB News, Trump criticized London’s lack of military support for his war with Iran and refused to confirm whether he would back Britain in a potential new dispute with Argentina.

On Tuesday, Argentine Falklands War veterans and environmental lawyers filed a lawsuit to halt the project promoted by the British company Rockhopper and the Israeli company Navitas in waters north of the islands.

Milei said the project violated a United Nations resolution calling on both sides to desist from unilateral actions in the Falklands while the dispute is ongoing.

“We will not allow it,” he said.

“If we allow it, we will be creating an incentive for the British government to deepen the occupation of the islands and the exploitation of our resources.”

His address comes as his approval ratings plummet, just over a year before he seeks re-election.

Polls show only around 34 percent of Argentines supporting his actions.