MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

London and Madrid address Spanish incursions into Gibraltar waters

Lord Howell reaffirmed Gibraltar waters’ sovereignty

British Foreign Minister William Hague raised the UK’s concerns over Spanish incursions into Gibraltar waters during a meeting with his Spanish counterpart last February, according to a response to a question in the House of Lords.

Responding to the crossbench peer Lord Luce, Lord Howell of Guildford, the Conservative Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, referred to “a number of serious incidents” involving Spanish vessels in recent months.

“We take these matters very seriously,” Lord Howell said, adding that Britain had protested formally on each occasion.

“The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [William Hague] raised the issue directly with his Spanish counterpart on 16 February, 2011.”

“The Minister for Europe [David Lidington] also raised it with the Spanish Foreign Minister, in the margins of the Council of Europe meeting on 10 and 11 May 2011.”

“The UK remains confident of its sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and will continue to assert this clear legal position with Spain.”

Publication of the response in the Lords coincided with comments by Trinidad Jimenez, the Spanish Foreign Minister, who told reporters in Cádiz that Britain and Spain would work to avoid further clashes at sea.

She said both countries intended to “reinforce the mechanisms for cooperation in order to avoid any more confrontations in the waters.”

“The two governments have manifested that above all else we are going to avoid these altercations, not least because this should not happen between two countries that are friends and allies, and because it only benefits delinquents,” she said.

Ms Jimenez was speaking after the Popular Party called on her to explain the recent incidents at sea.

In his answers to the House of Lords, Lord Howell described the recent incursion by the Spanish Navy corvette Atalaya as “an unacceptable violation” of British sovereignty.

Lord Howell of Guildford said the British embassy in Madrid had made a verbal complaint on May 6, three days after the incident, and then in writing on May 9.

“Our representations have stated clearly that the behaviour of the Atalaya was an unacceptable violation of British sovereignty over British Gibraltar territorial waters,” he said.

Lord Howell also responded to a question regarding the Gibraltar Government’s concerns that Royal Navy vessels in Gibraltar could take up to an hour to deploy, making it impossible to respond swiftly to fast-moving incursions by Spanish vessels.

His answer, however, was non committal. “We are aware of the Government of Gibraltar’s concern about the timeframes within which HMS Scimitar and HMS Sabre can be mobilised, and their call for a review of the operational arrangements of the Royal Navy’s Gibraltar Squadron,” Lord Howell.

“We balance our military and diplomatic responses to deter challenges to sovereignty on the waters, and will continue to do so.”