Britain should show more resolve in defence of Gibraltar territorial waters

Three months ago I complained about the lack of support for Gibraltar in the British press over Spain's relentless bullying of Gibraltar.

Not that the press has given us much support since, but today I see, the Mail Online (who else) is having a bit of a go... talking about what they term as the Gibraltar ambush: Spain grabs miles of British waters to carry out 'environmental protection;.

While this 'news' broke at least three months ago, (I blogged about it at the time: Gibraltar territorial waters and sovereignty once more under threat from Spanish bullying) it's good to see that at least one British newspaper has finally decided to say something about this!

Before anyone has a go at me telling me that there have been other reports in the British press recently about the recent infringements by Spain of Gibraltar's territorial waters... I am aware of those reports. But those reports have simply mentioned the incidents of Spain's transgressions into our waters... some in rather 'gung ho' and alarmist fashion. None (to my knowledge) have looked at the issue on the way Spain has managed to trick the EU into granting Spain legal rights over our British sovereign territorial waters surrounding Gibraltar. Simon McGee, writing in today's Mail Online highlights the issue rather well. Thank you Simon... and 'middle England'!

He even tried to contact the European Commission and the Spanish Foreign Affairs Ministry for comment but... surprise surprise... the EU Commission declined to comment and the Spanish government failed to respond to phone calls.

There have been reports in the British press over the last couple of weeks, that Britain was sending some warships out to Gibraltar, following the recent incidents. I haven't been able to corroborate or confirm the veracity of these reports from any reliable source (other than the UK press) but I can tell you... NO new warships have arrived in Gibraltar... as yet.

There is however, the substantial presence of the British nuclear submarine HMS Trenchant which was observed in the Bay of Gibraltar last Thursday. However, the submarine was only there to carry out a crew transfer and was on its way elsewhere. It was met by units from the Gibraltar Squadron, who in addition to providing an escort also ferried the transferring crew rom submarine to shore. It is reported that the transfer was carried out in the bay "because of poor weather conditions" in the Strait of Gibraltar. In any event, whatever it is up to, a nuclear powered submarine, whilst powerful in any regard, is very ill equipped and totally unsuitable to deal with the types of incidents that have occurred lately.

The brief visit by the nuclear powered submarine drew the usual and predictable response from 'Blanca Luz', Spain's Popular Party opposition MP for Cádiz, Jose Ignacio Landaluce, who repeated (as he does parrot fashion) his concerns about "safety" and urged the Spanish government to "take a tougher line"... bloody cheek! But speaking of Governments taking a 'tougher line', I agree... but it's Britain that should be taking a much tougher line!

As far as I know, the defence of our territorial waters, in this important issue and with the worrying atmosphere of rising tensions, is still up to the two units, the small patrol boats HMS Sabre and HMS Scimitar, belonging to the Royal Navy's Gibraltar Squadron.

In the light of a recent Defence Management report, which argues that support in Westminster for the Royal Navy has become so bad that the service now has a mere nine ships allocated to protecting Britain's territorial waters. The Royal Navy cuts mean less maritime security for the UK, so this does not augur very well for the Royal Navy's capabilities and the defence of Gibraltar's own British sovereign territorial waters!

As I've said before... so far, all concerned have been able to show restraint in these incidents, both on the Spanish Guardia Civil maritime patrol boats and on the British side, by the Royal Navy and the Gibraltar Police's maritime units... but I can see how these confrontations could easily go awry. Let's hope further escalations can be avoided and the matter can be resolved soon... before someone is hurt and we are having to deal with a much more serious 'international incident'!

I am a little comforted that both the Royal Gibraltar Police and the Ministry of Defence in Gibraltar are trying to ensure that their personnel know exactly what they have to do if faced with yet another Spanish incursion. In the wake of these recent tense incidents at sea off Gibraltar, police and military planners have reportedly revisited the operating procedures for marine crews patrolling British waters and that is comforting to know but one would expect them to be checking and reviewing their procedures.

More importantly... if further confrontations are to be avoided, I for one would feel far more comfortable if the British government were to send more substantial naval units to Gibraltar and, if nothing else, show Spain in no uncertain terms, that unlike in the lead up to the Falklands conflict with the pulling out of a substantial naval presence then, in this instance Britain is resolved to defend its territorial waters vigorously, by stationing one or two frigates or destroyers, at least, in Gibraltar now! Trouble is... does the UK have the will or the capability?

Where is Drake when you need him?

"So please your Majesty, to singe the King of Spain's beard; it has grown somewhat too long."

Royal Navy 'shoos' Spanish Civil Guards patrol boat out of Gibraltar territorial waters

A patrol boat from the Gibraltar Squadron of the Royal Navy recently ordered a Spanish Civil Guard patrol boat to leave Gibraltar waters.

A report in Panorama, one of Gibraltar's online newspapers, today said that the Royal Navy patrol boat approached the Civil Guard vessel and "with its armament aimed at it" ordered the Spanish vessel to leave Gibraltar waters. The incident apparently occurred on Good Friday.

According to Panorama, the Spanish Government recently said it had instructed the Guardia Civil maritime section to "keep watch on the east side of the Rock", where Gibraltar is carrying out a substantial reclamation and development project, and that Spain has described such waters as Spanish.

Panorama added that the Civil Guards contacted their superiors who requested that they leave the area so as "to avoid a major diplomatic incident".

Reports of the incident are a little murky and contradictory. Some reports say the incident occurred on the East side of Gibraltar.... and say that weapons were aimed at the Civil Guard patrol boat.

However, according to reports from Agence France Presse, carried by media affiliates, the incident occurred "when the Spanish vessel was close to the western approach to the Gibraltar airport runway, which juts out into the bay".

AFP also quote a spokesperson for British Forces Gibraltar who apparently said, "it was definitely in Gibraltar waters".

AFP further report:

"The vessel - from Spain's elite Civil Guard police force - was approached by HMS Sabre, which is armed with two machine guns at its stern. The guns were manned as is standard practice. However, they were not pointed at the Spanish vessel."

Territorial Waters Dispute

This is the latest incident in, to-date, only a 'war of words' over Gibraltar's territorial waters.

Last December, the European Union, in an apparent bureaucratic wrangle, accepted a somewhat surreptitious Spanish request to list most of Gibraltar’s territorial sea as one of Spain’s protected sites under EU environmental legislation.

In doing so, the Commission ignored the fact that Britain has jurisdiction over these waters and had already designated part of them as a European protected site in 2006.

The Spanish Government argue that the waters around the Rock are Spanish, although this has always been firmly rejected by Britain.

Reporting in the Gibraltar Chronicle earlier this month, Brian Reyes wrote that Britain "continues to seek ways of reversing the European Commission’s decision to designate Gibraltar’s territorial waters as a European protected site under Spanish responsibility."

In a response to a written question in the House of Lords, Lord Malloch-Brown, Labour’s Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said the British Government had taken up the issue with officials in Brussels and Spain. But he gave few other details and ducked a question from the crossbench peer Lord Kilclooney on how the situation had come about in the first.

Blanca Luz jumps on the bandwagon

As usual, our friend 'Blanca Luz', that guiding light of Spain's right wing PP opposition party, also known as José Ignacio Landaluce (Blanca Luz for short), has quickly jumped on the latest bandwagon to stir things up once again for Gibraltar.

The member of parliament of the Spanish Partido Popular, Jose Ignacio Landaluce, who (as Panorama also agrees), does not allow any opportunity to go by in his Gibraltar campaign, has said that the Spanish Government cannot allow a vessel of the armed Guardia Civil to be expelled "from its own home", alluding to the waters around Gibraltar as being Spanish.

He says this is a very serious matter that needs clarification in the Spanish parliament, where he intends to raise it. That was no doubt followed by a vigorous 'tub-thump' from 'Blanca Luz'!

Panorama adds:

"Sr Landaluce takes the view that a British patrol launch does not aim its guns at a vessel of the Civil Guards unless it is under strict orders to do so.

He calls for the possibility of Spain changing its policy on Gibraltar until what he terms the legal situation is restored, saying that the legality of the situation can 'only and exclusively' be restored by Britain recognising that the waters surrounding the Rock are Spanish."

Vigorous guard by Royal Navy Welcome

Whilst I very much hope the situation remains calm and we do not see any escalation with further incidents such as this one, especially armed ones, I do hope the Royal Navy's Gibraltar Squadron continue to guard Gibraltar's territorial waters vigorously!

Otherwise... we may need to once again bring our own great Knight... Sir Francis Drake into play!

"So please your Majesty, to singe the King of Spain's beard; it has grown somewhat too long."

Well... if not to singe the King of Spain's beard... at least we could have a go at singeing our friend Blanca Luz a little... but it'll have to be 'where the sun don't shine'... as he has very little left up top!

Gibraltar Squadron Royal Navy

HMS Sabre, wearing the pennant number P285, is one of two permanently stationed sea-going units in Gibraltar which make up the Gibraltar Squadron of the Royal Navy. Principally operating to maintain the security and integrity of Gibraltar Territorial Waters, HMS Sabre also contributes heavily to the support of Fleet and NATO assets in the area, provides support to Director Special Forces and offers general Search and Rescue assistance for the local authorities, for police, customs and rescue purposes.

More information on HMS Sabre (P285) @ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Madoff pirates twats blanca luz and the height of hypocrisy

Spain has netted a huge fine for illegal fishing.

Andalucia must pay the record 100 million euros fine for failing to prevent the capture of rare fish and for illegal fishing off the coasts of Andalucia.

The massive fine is being levied on Spain by the European Union, after constant warnings about the illicit capture of, in particular, young boquerones and chanquetes, went unheeded.

The European Court has ruled that Spain has continually failed to control the illegal fishing in its waters.

And they have the cheek to accuse Gibraltar of 'piracy'! Don't you just love 'em? Listen to this...

Yesterday, our friend, that guiding light of Spain's right wing PP opposition party, José Ignacio Landaluce (or Blanca Luz for short), was stirring it up for Gibraltar again, no doubt whilst enjoying stuffing himself over lunch with plenty of illegal omega 3!

While the illegal fishing goes on 'Blanca Luz' has the bare faced cheek to denounce Gibraltar's "fiscal paradise" (yawn), impugning that somehow, Gibraltar is responsible for 'him who Madoff' with all those rich people's money!

Reaching out for the high (immoral) grounds of hypocrisy, 'Blanca Luz' affirmed yesterday, that the Madoff case "ratifies the denunciations" he has been "making for a long time" over Gibraltar's "money laundering" activities!

'Blanca Luz' assured that the investigations that the New York authorities intend to conduct in Gibraltar, (with which by the way he fails to mention that the Gibraltar authorities are co-operating fully), the "known destination of the money allegedly defrauded by the banker Bernard Madoff", is once again "raising the unfair competition posed to the rest of European Union countries, by the the "Rock's fiscal paradise laws".

What I would love is for that other old wily Spaniard, Judge, Baltasar Garzon, himself under fire for some supposed 'fishy tax' wrongdoings... to sort his problems out... and come and have a look at 'Blanca Luz's own tax and money affairs. I wonder where 'Blanca Luz' stashes his dosh??

I'm sure it is pure idle gossip... and well we would say this wouldn't we... but I am given to understand... from good authority... that many of Spain's top bods (and this includes in high places in political circles) have loads of dosh stashed away... in the many banks of our grand 'fiscal paradise'... but of course, they will never admit that will they?! What a bunch of hypocritical twat pirates! Sheesssh... don't it make you mad? It does me... and yes I am coming out with a touch of the vernacular as I cannot bring myself to talk propa English when discussing twats!

I wish I had the GrumpyOldTwat's grasp for imaginatively (and comically) tinkering with Photoshop... as otherwise I'd dress our friend 'Blanca Luz' up as a Johnny Depp lookalike in 'The Pirates of Andalucia'!

For his prowess in reaching heady heights of hypocrisy... I am awarding 'Blanca Luz' today... my highly honoured "Twat of the Week" award!