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Ambassador should fly the white flag!
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by Man About Town
The incident last Tuesday involving the locally based Royal Navy vessel HMS Scimitar, at the time in international waters carrying out gunnery target practice and using traditionally NATO approved and internationally recognised marker flags, really upset the Spanish Government Government, who saw this incident, if you can call that, as an opportunity to create in their favour, of course, another politically motivated confrontation in the immediate international waters adjacent to Gibraltar.
The internationally recognised maritime flag is squarish and the three bands are the same width.
The Spanish flag is oblong and the centre yellow band is twice the width of the outer red bands.
The Spaniards were nosing around the activities of a British Naval vessel in international waters. This is a throwback to the old military cold war era of opposing sides spying on each other, instead of two modern day European and NATO Allies supposedly working in unison, trusting and respecting each other’s movements.
But what is even more amusing, is the haste with which the British Ambassador had to make a groveling and uncalled for apology to the Spanish Government.
Why was this, well, if you consider that after 20 or 30 years in use, these so called diplomatic brains have realised and literally recognised this last week, a similarity between the Spanish National flag and the NATO and internationally recognised No. 1 gunnery practice flag.
You would think that two nations like the United Kingdom and Spain who have been involved in military alliances like NATO for the past 20 or 30 years (this in Spain’s case) or so, would know or be familiar with the protocols concerning the various flags used by their so called respective friendly navies.
How the British Ambassador in Madrid Giles Paxman, obviously through the British Government, conceded that it was insensitive and an error of judgment for the Royal Navy’s HMS Scimitar to have been firing rounds in international waters at a red and yellow marine signal flag approved by NATO and internationally recognised, except by Spain, all seems weak, timid and frankly pathetic to say the least.
Even if this gunnery flag is red and yellow and may resemble the Spanish colours, it's been like that for decades and more. Is it just now, that the Spaniards who always appear to be on another intellectual planet, and who leave in diplomatic nappies their British counterparts when it comes to taking advantage of a situation, particularly with the territorial waters issue, which is much in the air RIGHT NOW! Worst thing about it all, is that the UK falls for it every time — laughable really.
All this is just a follow on from the many advantages and political switched on situations that Spain have had over the British Government over the years. The current Environmental Waters dispute was all brought on by British civil servants falling asleep at the Wheel or as in this case, at the helm.
I haven’t seen, or as far I know as anyone else in Gibraltar heard an apology from any British minister, or witnessed any British diplomat running in such political haste to the rock (as the British Ambassador did last week in Madrid) to inform Gibraltarians that it was a massive mistake not to have acted on the E.U.’S Environmental Decision which saw our energetic and wholly active eco-friendly neighbours have their waters extended. Neither have we been assured that it will never happen again, as the Madrid Ambassador so intently did last week to Spain, all because Her Majesty’s Navy were carrying out legitimate routine exercises with a yellow and red flag!
There are thousands of flags around the world that bear the same similarities to one another in colour, shape and design. As far as I know the colours red and yellow are not exclusively patented or trademarked to the Kingdom of Spanish via their flag. If that were the case, there truly would be an international world wide incident to deal with, and not an erroneously created one, by one of the smallest British Naval vessels in service taking practice pot shots at a recognised international flag in international waters.
Would it not be easier for the British Government to adopt a policy regarding Spain, that in future to avoid confrontation and misunderstandings and to limit Spanish sensitivities and another sudden dash to the Spanish Foreign Ministry by diplomats, that the Royal Navy simple hoist a big white flag every time it crosses paths with a Spanish Vessel?
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