Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, assured yesterday the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, that the military maneuvers that Morocco is carrying out since last Friday are taking place in “well-circumscribed areas and very far from Spanish waters.”
As reported yesterday by Foreign Ministry, Albares held a “new conversation” with Fernando Clavijo to address the relationship between Spain and Morocco. The initial intention was to hold a face-to-face meeting, but it could not be held due to the Canarian president’s agenda, so both parties have agreed to hold that meeting, shortly, at the headquarters of the Ministry.
During the conversation, according to Foreign Ministry, both agreed on the importance for Spain and the Canary Islands of maintaining the current stage of good relations with Morocco. Likewise, President Clavijo also asked Albares to inform him about the new stage of Government in Senegal and the situation in the Sahel, after which the minister conveyed the timely information to him, “which has been appreciated by President Clavijo.”
In any case, the most important issue of yesterday’s conversation was the maneuvers carried out by the Royal Moroccan Navy in the waters of southern Morocco and Western Sahara and only 125 kilometers from the coasts of the archipelago, which began this past Friday and will continue, in different phases, until June 28.
In this regard, the minister conveyed to the president of the Canary Islands that “the Moroccan maneuvers are carried out in well-defined areas and very far from Spanish waters.” For his part, the Canarian president assured, through his official account on the social network X, that Albares had “guaranteed” him that Morocco’s military maneuvers are carried out “in waters far from the Canary Islands and in a very limited area.” “He has also committed to keeping us informed about the situation in Senegal and the Sahel, key areas to control migratory pressure,” he added.
Sources from the Ministry told The Diplomat last week of the intention of the department headed by Albares to keep the Government of the Canary Islands informed of everything related to Moroccan military maneuvers. However, the same sources did not specify whether the Canary Islands Government was directly informed by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs or Defense of the Moroccan maneuvers or whether there is concern among the Spanish authorities about the carrying out of these naval maneuvers. The announcement of the exercises by Morocco has sounded the alarm in the Canary Islands, particularly in the southern part of Fuerteventura, which is the area closest to these naval military maneuvers.
The Moroccan naval maneuvers take place shortly after the Attorney General of the European Union recommended annulling the fishing agreements with Morocco, considering that they violate the principle of self-determination of Western Sahara by not treating it as a “separate and distinct” territory from the kingdom of Mohamed VI.This recommendation is a preliminary step before the EU court’s final verdict, and follows a ruling in favor of the Polisario Front in 2021. The fishing agreement between the EU and Morocco expired in 2023, with Spanish fishing vessels leaving Moroccan waters pending of the outcome of the legal dispute.
In these circumstances, according to international analyst Óscar Ruiz, from Escudo Digital, several Moroccan media, such as bladi.net, have assured that the objective of the maneuvers is “to reaffirm Morocco’s sovereignty over the waters of the Sahara.” Naval activity is expected to continue until the end of June, when the EU court issues its final ruling. Polisario Front sources have reported an “unusual deployment of security forces” in coastal areas in recent days.
