Eduardo González
The Government has assured the People’s Party (PP) that the agreement between Spain, the United Kingdom, and the European Union regarding the status of Gibraltar has “no direct relationship whatsoever with common security in the Strait of Gibraltar, nor with Spanish-American cooperation on defense matters, nor with the use of the Rota Naval Base (Cádiz).”
In a series of written parliamentary questions submitted on November 4, the PP points out that the Rota Naval Base is an “essential point for the security of the Strait of Gibraltar and for military cooperation between Spain and the US within the framework of NATO” and that, in recent times, the base “has reinforced its strategic role in allied defense with new ships and greater logistical capabilities,” which has made it a “key point in southern Europe.”
The People’s Party (PP) also asserts that the US Navy’s presence at the Rota Naval Base is based on bilateral agreements that address maritime security in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and warns that Spain’s cooperation framework with the US “must guarantee, at all times, respect for Spanish sovereignty over the territory and adjacent waters, especially in a context of possible changes to the border with Gibraltar.”
In this context, the PP states that the “eventual disappearance of the border fence” could “disrupt this operational balance,” modify “the flows of traffic, surveillance, and control in the Strait,” and have “direct geostrategic implications” in this area of ”critical maritime traffic” due to the “risk associated with illicit activities or instability in North Africa.”
For all these reasons, the People’s Party (PP) is asking the Government whether there are measures planned to “ensure that the eventual disappearance of the Gibraltar fence does not alter Spain’s control and sovereignty in the Strait area” and whether it has analyzed “the role that bilateral cooperation with the United States, especially through the Rota Naval Base, would play in the new security scenario that could arise from the disappearance of the Gibraltar fence.”
In this regard, the PP is asking the Government whether it plans to “strengthen operational cooperation with the US Navy in the Strait area if the Gibraltar fence were to disappear” and is considering “any review and expansion of the existing agreements with the US to adapt them to this possible scenario.”
The main opposition party is also asking whether the “possible disappearance of the Gibraltar fence and its implications for common security in the Strait” have been discussed in recent bilateral contacts with the United States on defense matters, and if so, “what assessment US authorities have conveyed regarding the potential effects of this territorial and border change.”
The party led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo also asks whether there is “a joint plan with US authorities to respond to potential risk scenarios arising from the disappearance of the Gibraltar border fence” and, if not, whether it plans to develop “one in coordination with the US command at the Rota Naval Base.”
Finally, the PP asks “whether the Government, together with the United States and NATO, is considering a reconfiguration of the role of the Rota Naval Base in the event of a change in the situation in Gibraltar” and, in relation to this, “what plans does the Ministry of Defense have regarding the reinforcement of resources or personnel in Rota in this context?”
In its response to the six questions posed by the PP, issued on December 12 and published ten days later in the Official Gazette of the Spanish Parliament, the Government asserts that “no direct relationship is apparent between the agreement between the Kingdom of Spain, the United Kingdom, and the European Union concerning the status of Gibraltar (…) and either common security in the Strait of Gibraltar, or Spanish-American cooperation on defense matters, or the use of the Rota Naval Base.”
“The surveillance, control, and response capabilities of the Armed Forces and the competent agencies in the Strait of Gibraltar remain fully guaranteed, just as the operational readiness and security of the Rota Naval Base continue to be ensured within the framework of the Defense Cooperation Agreement between Spain and the United States,” it concludes.