Friday, October 1, 2021 - 09:27
The document said: We start from the premise that HMG, whilst willing to seek a modus vivendi with Spain over Gibraltar short of surrendering sovereignty, will not be able to achieve this in the foreseeable future and will therefore have to maintain the status quo despite sharp criticism in the United Nations and increased hostility from Spain.
Were Spain to attack the airfield or the Rock, we believe that diplomatic pressures might stop the fighting, but would not necessarily restore to us any ground over which Spain had gained control. We therefore assess our military aim to be to deter Spanish offensive action by the reinforcement of our military capability, to maintain the Integrity of the Colony in the face of Spanish pressure and, if attacked, to hold it for as long as possible to enable satisfactory restoration of the situation to be negotiated diplomatically.
Spanish aims could be:
a. To demilitarise the airfield by seizing it and destroying the installations and then withdrawing.
b. To seize and hold the airfield.
c. To capture the Colony.
U.S Resolution recognises Gibraltar’s right to self-determination
A Resolution recognising Gibraltar’s right to self-determination has been submitted by the House of Representatives and referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
It resolves that the views and rights of Gibraltarians always be imperative in any discussion on Gibraltar’s status as a British Overseas Territor and recognises the right to this status following the Treaty of Utrecht.
It also honours the Rock’s contribution to advancing United States security interests in the Mediterranean region since 1801 and extends its deepest appreciation and thanks to the Government of Gibraltar and its citizens.
The Resolution recognises Gibraltar’s right to determine its status as a British Overseas Territory pointing out this was the will of the people in two separate referendums.
It gives details on what it describes as the ‘numerous’ times the United States has relied on Gibraltar’s military facilities: including America’s first overseas military intervention against the Barbary States, World War II, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation intervention in 2011 in Libya;
It adds that during World War II, General Dwight Eisenhower used Gibraltar as his headquarters to plan the liberation of North Africa stating, ‘‘Without it the vital air cover would not have been quickly established on the North African fields."
The Resolution states the security situation in North Africa and the Middle East continues to underscore the need for the United States to maintain secure access to Gibraltar’s military facilities;
Gibraltar, it states, has the right, under the United Nations Charter and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to determine its own future, adding the United Kingdom is a loyal ally that has always stood by the United States.