© AFP / Jorge GuerreroFILE PHOTO: The Spanish sea-port of Ceuta on the northern coast of Africa.
The Spanish ambassador to the United Nations, Agustín Santos Maraver, called out the UK for their military installations in Gibraltar during a scathing speech to the UN Committee on Decolonization on Monday.
Santos reiterated that Spain sought the return of Gibraltar and the "illegally occupied" cape, adding that the British military presence remained "at the heart" of the decolonization debate.
Meanwhile, patrol ship Vasily Bykov of the Russian Navy has docked at the port of Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa. The refueling visit suggests that the Spanish authorities are more comfortable with the Russian military than with the presence of its former colonial foe, Britain.
© MarineTraffic
Britain has controlled Gibraltar since 1704, after capturing the territory in the War of Spanish Succession. Spain has repeatedly tried to reclaim the peninsula. While the issue has been somewhat dormant since 1982, when the membership of both the UK and Spain in the European Union made the border symbolic, it has resurfaced following the "Brexit" referendum.
That situation ended a century ago with our destruction of the Ottoman Empire. Since then Britain has had no excuse for retaining Gibraltar but, like the Falklands, we have a small resident population of English people to whom we assert a duty of protection and we maintain an army garrison to operate the Customs Service.
After British withdrawal from the EU the ability to protect Gibraltar will be limited. If Spain withdraws her help we will have to supply food and water from UK. Britain really should look to the future and do a proper job. This unplanned "Mr Micawber" approach to colonial duty expecting something to turn up is not good enough.