| Tango01 | 09 Apr 2014 9:56 p.m. PST |
Warship challenges three ships after illegal incursion into The Rock's waters. "A Royal Navy warship was embroiled in a stand-off with a Spanish patrol boat after an illegal incursion into Gibraltar's waters. HMS Sabre, a Gibraltar Squadron patrol vessel with Army and Navy troops aboard, challenged the Civil Guard's Rio Cedena and two other state ships. The Spaniards deliberately entered British-controlled waters as part of an ongoing ‘campaign of harassment' over the Rock, it was claimed…"
Full article here.
link Amicalement
Armand |
| David Manley | 09 Apr 2014 10:08 p.m. PST |
Feels like another variant of my "Cod War" non-combat naval rules is in order |
| Dogged | 09 Apr 2014 11:53 p.m. PST |
Surely the Spanish government has another issue to hide by resurrecting the always handy Gibraltar controversy… |
| Mako11 | 10 Apr 2014 12:09 a.m. PST |
Hmmm, this will not end well for the Spanish, if history is any indication of the outcome. |
| Dogged | 10 Apr 2014 4:41 a.m. PST |
Most probably nothing gonna happen; the usual Spanish government bluff and posturing, British (slight) force showing (let's park a warship or two at Gibraltar for a few days), and when the Spanish public get their attention on something else which isn't harmful for the government's (scant) credibility or popularity, it will get quickly forgotten. |
| Jemima Fawr | 10 Apr 2014 4:51 a.m. PST |
Another day, another incursion… It's been happening virtually every day for the last 18 months. Despite lurid press reports, the RN hasn't sent any additional warships to Gib in response to anything that Franco's Boys have done. Whenever the Daily Mail and its ilk have trumpeted 'RN Warships on their way to Gib/Falklands!' (delete as applicable), they have invariably been routine deployments that were advertised in 'Navy News' 6 months earlier. However, some visiting RN ships have recently made a point during their visit, of performing sovereignty patrols in British-Gibraltarian Waters if they're small enough, or with their helicopter/RHIBs if too large. In the meantime: link :) |
| doug redshirt | 10 Apr 2014 5:04 a.m. PST |
I guess when unemployment for your young adults is running at 50% putting anything else on the front page is a good idea. |
| Mako11 | 10 Apr 2014 8:15 a.m. PST |
Yep, sounds like a good distraction plan….. |
| basileus66 | 10 Apr 2014 12:40 p.m. PST |
putting anything else on the front page is a good idea. I know I shouldn't… I know I promised, but… OK… I will be polite. Let' see the front pages of the most readed Spanish newspapers: El Mundo:
elmundo.es Nope. Nothing about Gibraltar… El País: elpais.com Neither… Damm! Perhaps in ABC, which is the Spanish Telegraph equivalent: abc.es Come on! Et tu Brute! I was hoping that such a beacon of Spanish nationalism would say something, anything… Another disappointment. Maybe TVs websites. Perhaps I am luckier here… La 1 (this is controlled by the government… surely they will run the story with the bombast it deserves!) And…
rtve.es/noticias/s/espana Nothing! Again! You can't trust anyone in this country of mine! Not even the Government can bother with its clever ruse to deviate attention from unemployment! Maybe tomorrow we will be luckier. Who knows? |
| basileus66 | 10 Apr 2014 12:44 p.m. PST |
Sorry, but I really enjoy conspiranoia. It' so entertaining! |
| Jemima Fawr | 10 Apr 2014 10:11 p.m. PST |
I don't agree that it's populist distraction either. It's just fascistic bullying of a sovereign territory and breaching of a whole stack of treaties that Spain signed up to and then just casually and deliberately defecates upon. It must be so painful for them, knowing that Gibraltar is and always will be British (for as long as the population wish to be so) and there is nothing they can do other than  about in speedboats. |
| janner | 11 Apr 2014 9:34 a.m. PST |
Were the Spanish in pursuit of smugglers in hi-speed vessels again? That's the usual reason Spanish vessels end up in Gib waters. |
| Mako11 | 11 Apr 2014 9:53 a.m. PST |
Perhaps they are just trying to contribute to the artificial reef program in the region. ;-) |
| Lion in the Stars | 11 Apr 2014 10:48 a.m. PST |
I'm amazed that the Brits haven't taken the Spanish up on that offer, Mako. |
| Mako11 | 11 Apr 2014 5:47 p.m. PST |
Give them time. Perhaps they haven't been in just the right location yet. |
| Jemima Fawr | 11 Apr 2014 10:01 p.m. PST |
Janner, sadly not. While there are regular joint GC/RGP pursuits of smugglers, the usual reason for GC vessels to be in the bay these days is to deliberately violate British-Gibraltarian Territorial Waters, as part of the present policy of aggression toward Gibraltar being pursued by the Francoist government. Lately that has escalated to manoeuvring dangerously near other vessels (especially Royal Navy vessels and commercial shipping servicing the Rock), manoeuvring without navigation lights and even using false callsigns. There have been 600 illegal incursions into BGTW by Spanish state vessels since the start of 2013 – this does not include legal incursions made be state vessels pursuing smugglers or conducting their right of innocent passage. |
| janner | 11 Apr 2014 10:40 p.m. PST |
Could you provide some links as I only found a single example of the fake c/s thing? |
| Bangorstu | 13 Apr 2014 12:05 p.m. PST |
Perhaps we should start enforcing EU fishing laws more rigorously in home waters…. Doing so would cripple the Spanish fishing fleet overnight. |
