Spain has demanded the UK close its military base in Gibraltar, as political tensions between the two countries threaten to explode. Gibraltar enjoys a strategic location at the western entrance to the Mediterranean, where the straits between Europe and Africa are only 14 km wide.

As such, the Oversees territory is routinely used by Royal Navy ships, RAF aircraft and other units that temporarily deploy to conduct training.

The MoD also employs 952 personnel in Gibraltar, of which 528 are locally employed civilians. The remainder are military and UK-based civil servants. The presence of the base as well as Gibraltar’s status as a British colony havre become sources of growing frustration and anger in Spain.

Spain’s UN ambassador, Héctor Gómez Hernández, alleged that the UK was contravening an existing Resolution (3163) passed by the Assembly in December 1973.

He called for the immediate demilitarisation of Gibraltar at a session of the UN in New York.

“Gibraltar is a British military base, which the United Kingdom places above the interests of its inhabitants,” he said.

“The United Kingdom, as the administering power, should put an end to military activities in the colony that have consequences for Spain and that needs to be demilitarised.”

In a written answer to a parliamentary question last year, the Minister of State for the Armed Forces, James Heappey, said 79 ships visited Gibraltar in 2022, as did 117 military aircraft. Additionally 2,000 to 3,000 personnel mostly from the British army were sent to the Rock for training exercises.

These visits total approximately 12,000 to 14,000 personnel per year, based on 2022 data. HMS Trent (63 Ship’s Company) was also forward deployed from Gibraltar.

The ambassador said the British colony was damaging the economy and environment of Campo de Gibraltar, the Spanish region adjoining the Oversees territory.

“Beyond sovereignty, Spain is unfortunately a victim of a situation that affects our territorial integrity,” he said.

“The nearby region suffers from the existence of the colony due to its fiscal, labour, environmental legislation and state aid that cause an economic imbalance on the other side of the border, particularly to the detriment of Campo de Gibraltar.”