An Argentinian federal judge has ordered the seizure of $156 million in assets from five oil companies that have been drilling in the Falkland Islands.

Argentina claims sovereignty over the Falklands, which it calls the Malvinas, but the island has historically been at the center of controversy, before drilling for oil began in 2010.

Premier Oil Plc, Rockhopper Exploration Plc, Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd, Noble Energy Inc, and Edison International all operate drilling concerns in the Falklands, and each was named by the Argentinian judge for asset seizures.

But since the companies in question are not based in Argentina, it's not exactly known how judge Lilian Herraez’s new measure could be implemented. As reported by BBC, Judge Herraez ordered the seizure of the assets of five oil companies this week, and says that her ruling will prompt steps to try to seize the assets from abroad. 

The history of the Falklands (or the Malvinas) is a complicated and bloody one.

In 1833, the United Kingdom asserted control of the islands by placing a naval garrison there. Argentina however maintains that the Britain stole the territory.

In 1982 Britain and Argentina went to war over the Falklands, which resulted in Argentina occupying the South Atlantic archipelago for 74 days before British forces eventually regained control. Around 650 Argentinian servicemen as well as 255 British fighters were killed during the ordeal, which also took the lives of three Falklands civilians.

While Argentina accuses Britain of exercising colonialism, the United Kingdom (which has held the Falklands for 180 years) maintains that the wishes of its residents should be observed.

Prime Minister David Cameron, speaking after a 2013 referendum in which the islanders offered a nearly unanimous support to stay a British overseas territory, said, "They want to remain British and that view should be respected by everybody, including by Argentina."

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner derided Britain over its perceived arrogance. And in 2014, Argentina brazenly launched a new 50-peso currency note that featured a map of the Falkland Islands on one side and an image of Antonio Rivero -- the man who led the attack in 1833 against the British -- on the other side.

During the unveiling ceremony for the new note Fernandez said, as reported in the Independent, “I have endless confidence that we will recover these islands."