Spain, Argentina to discuss move against UK

 

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/12/318326/spain-argentina-to-talk-antiuk-move/

Spain may join Argentina in a diplomatic offensive against Britain over disputed territories, a report says.

Spanish Foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo is to discuss the issue with Argentinean authorities during a trip to Buenos Aires next month, according to a report published by Spanish newspaper El Pais on Sunday.

The report also said that the Spanish foreign ministry is considering taking its complaints over British-held territory Gibraltar to the United Nations Security Council or to its General Assembly.

Furthermore, Spain is looking into the option of denouncing Gibraltar to the International Court of Justice in The Hague for its “illegal occupation” of an area, called Isthmus, which connects the territory to the mainland. The land strip was not included in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

Margallo is scheduled to meet Argentina’s Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, whose administration is also in a long-standing dispute with Britain over the sovereignty of Malvinas Islands.

Spain vowed on August 9 to take all necessary measures to defend its interest in Gibraltar, after reports revealed that Britain is set to send naval ships to the territory.

Tension between the two countries arose after authorities in Gibraltar dumped 70 blocks of concrete in waters close the territory’s coast in mid-July, aimed at creating an artificial reef.

However, Spain denounced the action, saying the blocks had been dumped “without any type of authorization and breaking several environmental norms.”

In addition, Madrid said the concrete blocks seriously damaged the fishery, making it impossible for Spanish fishing boats to work in the area.

Gibraltar is one of the British Overseas Territories, which is on the United Nations list of areas waiting decolonisation.

The British territory was seized from Spain in 1713 and remains a bone of contention between the two European countries.


 

UNASUR criticizes UK oil exploration plans in Malvinas Islands

The inauguration ceremony of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) Drug Council Meeting, La Paz, Bolivia, November 17, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/232260.html

The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) has denounced British oil exploration plans in the hotly disputed Malvinas Islands, amid mounting tensions between Britain and Argentina over the archipelago.

The UNASUR, created in 2008, is made up of 12 countries in the region, namely Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Venezuela, Ecuador and Uruguay.

"The military presence of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland in the Islas Malvinas ... goes against the region's policy to seek a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute, and [the region] reiterates its rejection of that presence," the foreign ministers of the UNASUR said in a joint statement on Saturday.

"It also rejects unilateral British activities in the disputed zone, which include, among other things, the exploration and exploitation of renewable and non-renewable Argentine natural resources as well as military exercises," the statement added.

Argentina says drilling activities and exploration by Britain are illegal and has vowed to take legal action against any companies operating in oil exploration off the disputed islands in South America.

The reaction of the South American nations came after the British oil and gas exploration company, Rockhopper, announced it was seeking a partner to invest in the 2-billion-dollar exploration project.

Tensions have been mounting in recent months over the Malvinas Islands, with the UN calling on Britain to discuss decolonization. The UK has so far refused to do so.

Britain has deployed its most sophisticated warship, HMS Dauntless, and a nuclear submarine to the South Atlantic to prevent Argentina’s possible counter-move.

The Malvinas Islands, located about 300 miles off Argentina's coast and home to about 3,000 inhabitants, have been declared as part of the British Overseas Territories since Britain established its colonial rule on the islands in 1833.

Britain and Argentina also fought a 74-day war in 1982 over the islands, which ended with the British side claiming victory over the Argentineans.