LONDON (AP) – Argentina's demand for direct control of shipping from the South American mainland to the Falkland Islands has raised fears about conflict over energy resources in the south Atlantic.

Britain triumphed when the old antagonists fought in 1982 for control of the sparsely populated islands.

National pride was at stake, along with bruised feelings from the colonial era and the disputed loyalty of the Falklanders themselves.

This time, the confrontation is over something more tangible: Control of substantial oil and gas reserves that are expected to generate thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in the coming decades.

On Wednesday, Britain's Foreign Office rejected Argentine President Cristina Fernandez's announcement the day before that ships traveling from the South American mainland would need a license from Argentina to travel to the Falklands, known in Argentina as the Malvinas.

Britannia rules those waves, ministers said, stating that the Argentine policy would not apply in Falkland territorial waters.

"We have no doubt about our sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and we're clear that the Falkland Islands government is entitled to develop a hydrocarbons industry within its waters,'' Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant said in a statement. Bryant insisted that Britain wouldn't easily be provoked.

"We're monitoring the situation closely, but we're not going to react to every development in Argentina,'' he said.

Legislator Andrew Rosindell, secretary of the parliamentary committee dealing with the Falklands, said it would be dangerous to ignore Argentina's provocative stance.