The United Kingdom has claimed a vast area of the South Atlantic seabed in a bid to extend control over potentially rich oil and gas reserves in the area.

Britain submitted a claim to extend its Atlantic territory by a million square kilometers around the Falkland Islands to the United Nations on Monday despite strong opposition from Argentina.

Argentina has angrily rejected the British move, which would allow it to exploit natural resources in areas relevant to Argentina, calling it "unacceptable."

Argentina claims the same area, which is a self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The two countries fought a brief, but bitter war over the seabed off the coast of the Falkland Islands in 1982.

The UN commission on the limits of the continental shelf will decide the fate of disputed islands after considering the data presented by Britain and Argentina for possession of extended continental shelves.

Under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, coastal states may explore and exploit the natural resources of their continental shelf for up to 200 nautical miles from shore, which can be extended up to 350 nautical miles through application to the UN commission.

HE/SC/AA