The Diplomat
The Government of Gibraltar issued a statement accusing a Guardia Civil patrol boat of endangering bathers on Eastern Beach (Levante beach) with an “incursion” carried out yesterday afternoon.
The Gibraltarian authorities point out in the statement that they “strongly condemn the presence of a foreign police boat so close to the coast of Gibraltar”, which they consider “represented a danger to bathers and other beach users”.
The Government of Gibraltar accuses the Guardia Civil of endangering bathers during “an incursion”. This is what the Executive of the Rock affirms this Tuesday through a statement in which it “strongly” denounces and condemns the incursion this afternoon on Eastern Beach (Levante beach) by a Spanish Guardia Civil patrol boat. “A raid by the Civil Guard in Gibraltar waters has put bathers in danger. The presence of this foreign police vessel so close to the coast of Gibraltar represented a danger for bathers and other beach users,” said the authorities of the Rock.
A video was circulating on social media yesterday in which a patrol boat from the Civil Guard can be seen sailing next to the buoy that delimits the bathing area on the aforementioned beach.
According to the Gibraltarian government, “the incursion is also an affront and a challenge to the sovereignty of the British Territorial Waters of Gibraltar.” Spain does not recognize British sovereignty over the waters surrounding the Rock, which were not ceded by the Treaty of Utrecht.
However, Gibraltar describes the incident as “very serious” and says it has raised the matter directly with the United Kingdom. According to the Gibraltar Chronicle, London will present a diplomatic protest to Spain over what happened.
In its statement, the Gibraltarian government said that what happened “can only serve to further undermine confidence in Spain and its security forces, after a series of incidents of this type at sea over several months.”
“The actions of the Spanish patrol boat are totally unacceptable and the officers on board should know that they must not allow themselves to engage in such provocative and dangerous behaviour,” the statement said.
In this regard, the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, declared that “the actions of the Guardia Civil are illegal under international law and are a waste of time if they are designed to challenge the unquestionable British sovereignty over the British Territorial Waters of Gibraltar.” “The sooner all parts of the Spanish political spectrum, from the left to the right, realise this, the better,” he said.
