Burnham raises Sea Lion dispute with Trump

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham raised Argentina’s measures against the Sea Lion oil project and their economic consequences for the United Kingdom and the United States in a phone call with US President Donald Trump, Downing Street said. Burnham also reiterated the islanders’ right to develop natural resources. The official account described the discussion as focused on Sea Lion, an oil project near the Falkland Islands. It did not provide details of Trump’s response to Burnham’s concerns. The reported account of the call comes from Downing Street; no direct account from Trump was included. Argentina has asked the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to halt the project. The Argentine government says the activities were authorised unilaterally and illegally by the UK, and that they could worsen the dispute. The tribunal hearing on Argentina’s request is scheduled for November 10 and 11 in Hamburg. Argentina has also pursued measures against people and companies connected with the project. A sovereignty-defence bill that would extend sanctions to people and entities linked to companies operating in the islands remains stalled in the Chamber of Deputies, according...