The Rock goes on defensive...

Gibraltar asks British armed forces to take 'effective action' against Spanish 

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 4:02 PM on 15th October 2010

Gibraltar has called on Britain to defend the Rock with warships to prevent Spanish incursions into its waters.

Chief Minister Peter Caruana has written to Foreign Secretary William Hague urging him to take action to ensure Spanish police stay out of the sea around the British colony.

The plea followed a string of run-ins between police in Spain and Gibraltar.

Between a rock and a hard place: Gibraltar's Chief Minister Peter Caruana has called on Britain to defend the Rock with warships to prevent Spanish incursions into its waters

In a televised address to Rock residents on Thursday evening Caruana said he had asked Mr Hague to take 'effective action.'

He added: 'This should include the systematic deployment and intervention of the Royal Navy in support and protection of the Gibraltar police as they carry out their duties.'

The hard-hitting message came a day after Gibraltar unexpectedly pulled out of tripartite talks with the UK and Spain over the Rock's future.

The British colony cited 'technical reasons' for its decision to postpone meetings due to take place this week and next.

 A brief statement issued by Caruana's office said: 'Technical working group talks under the Trilateral Forum scheduled for this week and next week have been postponed for technical reasons.

'These talks included groups working on maritime environmental, maritime safety and policing issues. No alternative dates for the meetings have been fixed at this time.'

Tension between police on either sides of Spain's border with Gibraltar has escalated in recent weeks and dragged Britain into its fallout.

Spain complained to Britain last month after police in Gibraltar entered Spain illegally to raid a house.

Military: The British Forces base in Gibraltar

A fortnight ago Spanish police removed a suspected smuggler from Gibraltar's territorial waters following phsyical scuffles and a tense stand-off with police from the British colony.

Caruana warned afterwards it could undermine the efforts of the Trilateral Forum, which first met four years ago, to co-operate on law enforcement issues.

Gibraltar's Chief Minister used his TV broadcast to tell Spain it has no jurisdiction over the British colony's territorial waters and challenged its foreign minister to take the matter to court.

Speaking on local TV station GBC, he said: 'If Mr Moratinos is convinced that under international law the waters around Gibraltar are British, then you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by bringing this matter to the International Court of Justice.'

Gibraltar claims three miles into the Mediterranean as it own but the Spanish have never recognised they were included in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht under which Britain took possession of the Rock.

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos heightened the growing tension last week by claiming Gibraltar had no waters and the sea around the Rock belongs to Spain.

The fragile truce over Gibraltar wobbled last year when the UK was forced to apologise to Spain after the Royal Navy used a buoy with the Spanish colours for target practice. The exercise took place off the coast of Gibraltar.