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A Spanish warship entered British waters near Gibraltar yesterday afternoon and passed the site of a controversial land reclamation project.
lightningA 2,860-ton, 94-meter-long offshore patrol vessel made the unusual choice to activate its AIS transponder while passing through disputed waters.
Dagger A frigate from the Gibraltar fleet was scrambled from its berth to escort the invading NATO allied ships.
Witnesses at East Beach said lightning When it passed, it was only about 1,000 meters from the coastline.
At around 5:15 p.m., the Spanish patrol ship turned off its transponder immediately after leaving the British territorial waters of Gibraltar.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said: “The Royal Navy challenged the intrusion and escorted a Spanish naval vessel out of UK Gibraltar territorial waters.” Olive Press In a statement.
“The UK Department of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation makes formal diplomatic representations to Spain where appropriate. The invasion is a violation of British sovereignty, not a threat to it.”
Olive Press Previously reported lightning It was sent last month to conduct operations in the Strait and Alboran Sea “to help ensure the security of (Spanish) national waters.”
The Rayo is one of two Metereo-class ships of the Spanish Navy, also known as BAM (Offshore Operations Vessel The Spanish Navy has the title of “Maritime Action Ship” and its purpose is to “control areas of Spanish sovereignty and national interests.”
The warship’s mission coincides with the start of a massive land reclamation project off Gibraltar’s Mediterranean coast, which has sparked protests in Spain.
This may lead to speculation that the purpose of the invasion is to assert Spanish sovereignty over waters currently being reclaimed for the development of the €340 million East Zone project.
A month-long land reclamation project will change the face of Gibraltar’s Mediterranean coast.
It will pave the way for the construction of luxury apartments, offices, shopping centres and restaurants, as well as a new marina, which could add €3 billion to the region’s economy.
The project will also add parks, playgrounds and community centres in Gibraltar’s less populated eastern area.
The land fill will make use of a long-standing unwelcome pile of rubble near the Hassan Centennial Terrace Tower.
However, Spain’s Foreign Ministry said it had protested repeatedly about Gibraltar’s landfill, claiming it was within Spanish territorial waters.
The British overseas territory claims territorial waters extending 3 nautical miles (5.5 km) into the waters around the peninsula – far less than the 12 nautical miles allowed under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Spain’s position is that these waters were not included in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, when Gibraltar was ceded to Britain, and therefore remain Spanish.
Gibraltar police sources said Olive Press Spain’s incursions into the Mumbai Strait have been “going on for years” and are aimed at asserting its sovereignty over the waters and considering a future court hearing on the dispute under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Historians argue that the concept of territorial waters did not exist in international law in 1713, and it would have made no sense to cede the port of Gibraltar to Britain while retaining control of territorial waters.
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