Luis Ayllón
The Spanish government is very upset with the United Kingdom for its latest actions in Gibraltar, coinciding with the blocking of negotiations between Brussels and London on the future of the Rock, after Brexit.
The British have increased the presence of Royal Navy ships at the Gibraltarian base in recent weeks, including nuclear-powered submarines; they have inaugurated a special terminal for the military at the Gibraltarian airport; they have taken a group of parliamentarians through the waters that surround the Rock; and the colony’s governor, David Steel, has carried out what he called a “sovereignty patrol” aboard a Royal Navy vessel.
Spanish diplomatic sources consulted by The Diplomat consider that this is not a mere coincidence and assure that a verbal note of protest has been presented to the United Kingdom for the walk given, on June 19, by 15 British parliamentarians, all of them dressed in military clothes, aboard the ships of the military squadron of the Royal Nay in Gibraltar, HMS Cutlass and HMS Dagger, which led them to Punta Europa.
The United Kingdom considers that these are the “British territorial waters of Gibraltar”, but Spain recalls that they were not ceded by the Treaty of Utrecht and ensures that they are Spanish sovereignty. This is stated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its protest note, in which it also recalls that the United Nations condemns the military use of non-autonomous territories.
Despite the protest, a short time later, on Monday the 3rd, the Governor of Gibraltar, Vice Admiral David Steel, got on board another Royal Navy vessel, to carry out what he described, on his Twitter account , of “sovereignty patrol” for the aforementioned waters. Spain will bravely present a new complaint to London on this matter, even knowing that the British are ignorant of all of them.
On the other hand, regarding the continuous presence of nuclear submarines in the Peñón military base, the sources consulted indicated to The Diplomat that the British side reports on the stopovers that these ships make in the port. In these conversations, according to the same sources, the Spanish government “systematically” conveys its discomfort and calls on the United Kingdom to give greater guarantees that the presence of these submarines does not pose a danger to the population.
The negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Commission on the future of Gibraltar after Brexit (Gibexit) have been paralyzed since the early general elections in Spain were announced, since any possible agreement would require the approval of the Spanish authorities and, on the eve of the elections, any decision seems completely ruled out.
The Gibraltarian Government has viewed the situation created with regret, fearing that positions will harden if the PP reaches La Moncloa, and yesterday, the British Deputy Prime Minister, Oliver Dawden, said before the House of Commons, in the presence of the Chief Minister of the colony, Fabian Picardo, that the Government of Rishi Sunak “will always defend the people of Gibraltar and their right to determine their own future”.
For his part, Picardo, speaking before the European Scrutiny Committee of the British Parliament, stated that he will call a referendum if he believes that, in the agreement reached between Brussels and London, there are aspects that question the sovereignty of the Rock.
