GIBRALTAR (AFP) Gibraltar's chief minister has called an incursion of a Spanish navy ship into the waters around the contested British territory on Spain's southern coast "unacceptable", reports said Saturday.

In the latest in a string of similar incidents, a Spanish navy ship was spotted on May 22 in the waters off the village of Catalan Bay in "circumstances which would appear to be unacceptable," Peter Caruana was quoted as saying on Gibraltar public radio and television.

On May 8, a Spanish navy vessel sent boarding parties to inspect Spanish fishing boats in British waters, despite the British considering that it had no authority to do so.

"It's a violation of British sovereignty and something we take very seriously indeed," a British foreign office spokesman told reporters at the time.

The first incident took place last month when a Spanish police vessel was spotted close to the western approach to the Gibraltar airport runway, which juts out into the bay. It was ordered to leave by a British navy patrol launch.

The Conservative party said Saturday they plan to question the government in parliament over the recent incidents.

Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht but has retained a constitutional claim should Britain renounce sovereignty -- a move that London says will not happen without the consent of Gibraltarians.

The Spanish government claims that Gibraltar has no territorial waters outside its internal port limits, but Britain firmly rejects this and claims three nautical miles around the Rock as British territorial waters.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090530/wl_uk_afp/gibraltarbritainspaindiplomacymilitaryincident;_ylt=AnBBHHIvZtaDXI2lATcwqOx0bBAF;_ylu=X3oDMTNtcTRiOWoxBGFzc2V0A2FmcC8yMDA5MDUzMC9naWJyYWx0YXJicml0YWluc3BhaW5kaXBsb21hY3ltaWxpdGFyeWluY2lkZW50BHBvcwMxNgRzZWMDeW5fcGFnaW5hdGVfc3VtbWFyeV9saXN0BHNsawNnaWJyYWx0YXJjYWw-

Great news indeed!
I am looking forward to the day that Gibraltar is annexed by Spain.

If the residents want to be British that should be OK, but territorial waters, airspace, and a huge base is BS.

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Great news indeed!
I am looking forward to the day that Gibraltar is annexed by Spain.

In which case Morocco can annex Malilla, so the Spanish won't be annexing anything

If the residents want to be British that should be OK, but territorial waters, airspace, and a huge base is BS.

Our territory, we can put a base there if we like. In fact, being such a strategic location it makes perfect sense to put a base there as we can control entry to the Med!




"He lives in a world where concept is reality..."

I once lived in France,
but left for Angleterre,
I dream up flying in planes,
and invent some sources too,
but when it comes to proving it,
it's Tampax down the drain!

If Gibraltar goes back to Spain, then Olivença should go back to Portugal.

www.lutetheinstrument.blogspot.com