Gibraltar has already engaged in defacto diplomacy of its own

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 Wednesday, March 6, 2019 - 11:12

By KEN WESTMORELAND

On a recent visit to Gibraltar, I was surprised to hear someone tell me that the local branch of the Instituto Cervantes, now closed, ‘is missed here’. This was in marked contrast to what I had read for many years, namely that it was unwelcome, unwanted, and seen as a Trojan horse for Spanish influence, not just cultural, but also political, a kind of listening post or den of spies. 

The decision to open the local branch in the first place was never popular with hardliners in Madrid either, as the Instituto Cervantes is supposed to represent Spain abroad and outside the Spanish-speaking world. Ironically, Spain maintained a consulate until 1954, implying that Gibraltar was not part of its national territory, before it was closed in protest at the visit by the Queen.

As it happens, Spain established a ‘Centro Cervantes’ in Taiwan in 1974, after it ceased to recognise the island as the Republic of China, instead recognising the People’s Republic of China. Performing similar functions to an embassy, this later became the ‘Spanish Chamber of Commerce’, with a consular section under the jurisdiction of the Consulate-General in Manila in the Philippines.

This elaborate make-believe has long been par for the course for countries seeking relations with Taipei but without antagonising Beijing. As a result, they must pretend that their ‘trade missions’, ‘cultural institutes’ or ‘liaison offices’ are nongovernmental organisations, and the fact that they are run by diplomats on sabbatical is all coincidence, pure coincidence, I tell you!

Conversely, Taiwan had to establish unofficial missions under cryptic names like the ‘Centro Sun Yat-sen’ in Madrid, and the ‘Free Chinese Centre’ in London. Now, however, they contain the word ‘Taipei’ (but not ‘Taiwan’) in their titles with a reference to economics and culture, even though their staff enjoy similar privileges in their host countries to foreign diplomats.

Gibraltar has already engaged in de facto diplomacy of its own, first through its government office in London, then through those in Washington and Brussels. And in a more apolitical way, there has also been the tourist office in Madrid, though as with Taiwan and its ‘Chung Hwa Travel Service’ in Hong Kong, what looks apolitical on the outside may well be less so on the inside.

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