Row over Falklands heats up

Britain and Argentina's longstanding dispute over the Falklands escalated yesterday as Buenos Aires took legal action against companies exploring for oil off the islands and the countries summoned each other's ambassadors for a dressing-down.

The animosity between the two capitals, which fought a brief, bloody war over the South Atlantic islands in 1982, has intensified in recent years with the discovery of significant oil deposits offshore.

Adding to the bad blood in recent weeks, Britain has announced plans to beef up its defenses on the islands because of "continuous intimidation" from Argentina, while Argentine media reports have denounced British spying aimed at blocking the South American country's efforts to win sovereignty.

In the latest throwdown, the Argentine government said it had taken legal action in a local court against three British and two US companies for "carrying out exploration activities for fossil fuels on the Argentine continental shelf without obtaining the corresponding authorization."

The companies listed in the complaint are British firms Rockhopper Exploration, Premier Oil and Falkland Oil and Gas Limited and US firms Noble Energy and Edison International.

The court case came after Britain summoned Argentine Ambassador Alicia Castro on Wednesday to say it "object(s) strongly" to her and President Cristina Kirchner's recent statements on the Falklands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas.

Argentina responded by summoning British Ambassador John Freeman to deliver a tongue-lashing of its own.

It said the ambassador was summoned over news portal TN's reports that documents leaked by fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden showed Britain's Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group carried out a "long-term, far-reaching" espionage program in Argentina.

The 74-day Falklands War claimed the lives of 649 Argentine soldiers, 255 British soldiers and three islanders.