Falklands row escalates with arrival of oil rig

London: Hostilities between the UK and Argentina were expected to reach boiling point late on Friday with the arrival of a British oil rig off the Falkland Islands.

Buenos Aires has threatened to take steps to prevent what it believes is "illegal" drilling — including a blockade of ships.

But oil exploration firm Desire Petroleum confirmed that the huge drilling platform Ocean Guardian was due to enter the archipelago's waters in defiance of the Argentine government's warnings.

News that the tugs towing the rig had sailed into Britain's 200 miles (321 kilometres) exclusive economic zone around the disputed territory came as it emerged the Ministry of Defence was bolstering its military presence in the area.

Four warships are in the South Atlantic, including the destroyer York anchored off the islands' capital Port Stanley, and four RAF bombers have been deployed as a show of strength, military sources claimed.

Britain also has more than 1,000 service personnel on the Falklands, which are still claimed by the Argentines despite their crushing defeat in the 1982 war.

Gordon Brown responded to Argentine sabre-rattling by insisting Thursday that the UK had made "all the preparations that are necessary" to protect the territory, which has a population of 3,000.

But Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague said the Royal Navy's presence in the region should be increased further to act as a deterrent.

Drilling operation

Tensions between Britain and Argentina have flared up over the imminent drilling operation by four British firms set to begin this week.

Experts claim there could be 60 billion barrels of oil in the rocks deep beneath the ocean floor.

Desire Petroleum will tether the Ocean Guardian drilling platform between 30 and 60 miles north of the Falklands coast.

But on Tuesday Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner issued a decree requiring all vessels passing through its territorial waters to and from the Falklands to gain permission from Buenos Aires, though it is unclear how it can enforce this.

The decree raised the possibility that civilian and even military vessels could be stopped or boarded by the Argentine Navy.

Argentina has lodged a hostile claim at the United Nations for 660,000 square miles of the South Atlantic seabed which surrounds the islands, known locally as Las Malvinas. Territorial waters usually extend 12 miles from the coast.