MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Gibraltar: UK has no plans ‘at present’ to extend the 12 miles territorial waters around Gibraltar
The British Government has no plans “at present” to extend British territorial waters around the Rock but does not rule out doing so in the future. The position was revealed in a statement by David Lidington, Britain’s Minister for Europe, in response to a question in the House of Commons. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules“at present” ............ yup , says it all :-)
May 23rd, 2013 - 05:55 am - Link - Report abuse 0Javalin anti tank missiles have a range of 12 miles handy that
May 23rd, 2013 - 09:00 am - Link - Report abuse 0@2 Martin
May 23rd, 2013 - 10:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0Oddly enough, the way that territorial waters used to be calculated was just that - how far could whatever variety of coastal artillery could shoot. Spain does seem to want to go back to this system, rather than what was agreed by the convention that they ratified.
@3 Ah yes. But, according to Spain, Gibraltar has no territorial waters because they weren't mentioned in the Treaty of Utrecht. Unfortunately, Spanish territorial waters weren't mentioned either. I wonder that a country like England, victorious on every front, couldn't see that a treaty that enabled a Spanish fleet to sit just outside the Port of Gibraltar ready to fire on anything wanting to leave, might have been a mistake. Hang on, there was no international agreement on the extent of “territorial waters” in 1713. That's why they weren't mentioned. That's why the dastardly Spanish won't go to the ICJ. Because they'd get beaten round the head with a copy of UNCLOS!
May 23rd, 2013 - 10:40 am - Link - Report abuse 0The sooner the 12 mile limit comes, the better it will be ..
May 23rd, 2013 - 12:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Thing is, isn't the territorial limit a domestic, internal matter? Obviously, Gibraltar needs a heavily armed naval force. Then, it can reasonably declare a 12-mile limit under UNCLOS. It can go out, warn, and then destroy, explode, sink anything Spanish. Closer to Gibraltar's shores, there should be cannon, machine and miniguns. Always a good idea to sprint up the beach, take control of a strategically-placed weapon and destroy anything Spanish.
May 23rd, 2013 - 03:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0agreed,
May 23rd, 2013 - 06:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0with the way the spannish just ignore law and order,
the R/N should be permanantly stationed their and inforce the limit,
then see if these cowards dare come near..
@7 Unfortunately, the RN is permanently stationed there. The Gibraltar Squadron. ”It consists of two 16 m (52 ft 6 in) Patrol launches—HMS Scimitar and her sister ship HMS Sabre—and three Pacific 24 rigid-hulled inflatable boats, manned by a team of 22 people.“ The Spanish regularly send out their ”patrol boats“ that are 68 m in length to invade BGTW. The MoD regularly states that the RN force is ”adequate”. I keep telling them that it isn't. But it's notable that if an RN vessel of any appreciable size and capability turns up, the Spanish are rarely to be seen! Instead of scrapping Type 23 frigates, they should send some to Gibraltar. Even moored, the main armament has a range in excess of 13 miles. The normal complement is 185, but a reduced complement of, say, 90 would be enough for short journeys and firing the armament. The secondary armament, 2× 30mm DS30M automated guns, 2× Miniguns and 4× General-purpose machine guns could also be manned. Would we even have to tell the Spanish that any unauthorised vessels entering BGTW might be fired on?
May 26th, 2013 - 11:44 am - Link - Report abuse 0Yes
May 26th, 2013 - 06:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I agree with you,
We should have bigger ships and be more robust in our defence of Gibraltar,
Sometimes being friendly and peaceful to our none existent ally,
Must surely just make us look incapable of defending it.
.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!