The South Atlantic is consolidating as a new stage of geopolitical friction, where fishing becomes a strategic tool and the defense of natural resources emerges as a central challenge for Argentine sovereignty. However, two years later, specialists admit that the Argentine maritime border remains vulnerable to the volume and persistence of foreign fleets. The Argentine Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), defined in Article 5 of Law No. 23,968, extends up to 200 nautical miles from the baseline and is home to species of high commercial and ecological value, many of them allegedly endemic. Together, this deployment would represent about 44% of the world's fishing effort, an unprecedented proportion for a single nation. The US congressional report highlights that Latin America appears as one of the “critical zones” of this expansion, with special emphasis on the vicinity of the Argentine southern sea, where intensive squid fishing is concentrated. In response to the situation, the government of Javier Milei reacted quickly. The Federal Fisheries Council communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Chancellor Pablo Quirno, that there are no objections to the US research vessel Roger Revelle conducting marine scientific research activities starting March 5, 2026. This is a technologically complex vessel, part of the US Academic Research Fleet, which usually operates in different oceans of the world. Since taking office in December 2023, Milei ordered to reinforce the patrol of the EEZ limit, considering illegal fishing as one of the contemporary expressions of piracy. At the beginning of 2024, the Ministry of Defense deployed the ARA Piedrabuena ocean patrol vessel to intensify surveillance. According to documents analyzed by the US Congress, China controls a fleet estimated between 2,000 and 16,000 vessels, depending on whether convenience-flagged vessels and ships associated with maritime militias are counted. Dr. Ian Ralby, founder and CEO of Consilium, an international consultancy specializing in maritime policy and security, warned that Beijing would be transferring the concept of “adverse possession” to the oceanic sphere, a doctrine of Anglo-Saxon property law.
