Gibraltar’s territorial waters ‘a conflict in waiting,’ say Spanish military

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 Wednesday, August 26, 2020 - 10:14

The association of Spanish military, whose members include generals and other retired military personnel, has published a report saying that Gibraltar’s territorial waters are ‘a conflict in waiting’. There are those who think that the only jurisdiction over the whole of the Rock and its waters is Spanish.

With such thinking emanating from such quarters, it shows that in Spain today there are those who continue to have such extremist views.

It was 10 years ago when the United Kingdom notified the European Union, that therefrom, “the territorial waters of their colony in Gibraltar would be 3 miles” setting the scene for an inevitable future conflict, they say, adding that when Britain made such a declaration the Spanish foreign ministry said nothing.

According to an article now published, Spain defined its jurisdictional waters in accordance with the UN convention of the seas of 1982, whereby Spanish territorial waters extend to 12 miles. That is to say their jurisdiction goes over Gibraltar!

Since the declaration over rights of territorial waters was established in 1982, how can the said military minds determine that the Treaty of Utrecht of over 300 years ago is what determines territorial waters.

The article in question refers to the failed negotiations on joint sovereignty years ago, and is critical of the views of some Spaniards that maintain that Gibraltar has the rights it claims. It is also annoyed by Spanish thinking that the frontier will not be closed again as happened in 1969.

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26-08-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR