英國譴責西班牙直布羅陀執法侵犯英主權

The Sandy Bay area of Gibraltar, where the incursion is said to have occurred

據稱發生入侵行爲的直布羅陀沙灣(Sandy Bay)地區

The British Foreign Office has accused Spain of “a clear violation of UK sovereignty” for sending ships into territorial waters off the coast of Gibraltar.

英國外交部(British Foreign Office)譴責西班牙派遣船隻進入直布羅陀沿岸領海的行爲“明顯侵犯了英國主權”。

Officials in London raised the alarm after the Royal Navy escorted the Servicio de Vigilancia Aduanera — the Spanish police’s drugs and money-laundering squad — out of what the Foreign Office said were British waters over the weekend.

倫敦的多名官員都發出了這一警告。此前，在上週末，英國皇家海軍(Royal Navy)監視伴航西班牙海關監察隊（Servicio de Vigilancia Aduanera，簡稱SVA，西班牙警方的反毒和反洗錢隊伍）駛離英國外交部稱爲英國領海的水域。

The row marks an escalation in the long-running dispute between the two countries over Gibraltar, which was ceded to Britain three centuries ago but which Spanish authorities want to reclaim.

這一爭執標誌着英西兩國圍繞直布羅陀的長期爭議出現升級。直布羅陀是三個世紀前割讓給英國的，但西班牙當局希望收回直布羅陀的主權。

Hugo Swire, Foreign Office minister, said on Sunday that he understood that the Spanish were pursuing vessels which may have been committing crimes.

英國外交部國務大臣雨果斯懷爾(Hugo Swire)上週日表示，他了解到西班牙方面當時在追逐可能在從事犯罪活動的船隻。

“However, it is completely unacceptable and unlawful under the international law of the sea to enter our waters without notifying us,” he said.

“然而，依據國際海洋法，在未通知我們的情況下進入我們的水域，是完全不可接受的和非法的行爲，”斯懷爾表示。

“These repeated incursions into British Gibraltar territorial waters are a clear violation of UK sovereignty by another EU country and we will be raising this as a matter of urgency with the Spanish authorities.”

“對英國直布羅陀領海的多次入侵，是另一個歐盟(EU)國家對英國主權的明顯侵犯。我們將把這個問題作爲緊急事項與西班牙當局展開磋商。”

Last October, the British government expressed “grave concern” over manoeuvres carried out by a Spanish research vessel off Gibraltar, and summoned the Spanish ambassador to discuss the issue.

去年10月，英國政府對一艘西班牙科考船在直布羅陀沿海展開的機動表示“嚴重關切”，並曾召見西班牙大使討論這一問題。

In the most recent incident, the Spanish police pursued smugglers by boat and are also thought to have flown a helicopter over the Sandy Bay beach area on the east coast of the territory.

在最近這起事件中，西班牙警方曾派遣艦艇追逐走私船，並被認爲曾派一架直升機駛入直布羅陀東岸的沙灣海灘上空。

Responding to reports of these activities, the Gibraltarian authorities said that they should have been asked to assist in catching the criminals once the chase looked like it would go into UK-controlled waters. Fabian Picardo, the chief minister, argued that the incursions had been dangerous.

作爲對有關上述活動報道的迴應，直布羅陀當局表示，當這種追逐看起來有可能進入英國控制的水域時，本應立刻請求他們協助抓捕罪犯。直布羅陀總督費邊皮卡爾多(Fabian Picardo)稱，這種入侵行爲很危險。

“I am sure I am speaking for the whole of Gibraltar when I say that we consider this has been a serious and unnecessary failure on the part of the Spanish SVA [money-laundering squad] which has had outrageous consequences in respect of the violation of our sovereignty,” he said.

他說：“我確信我是在代表整個直布羅陀作如下表示：我們認爲，這是西班牙SVA方面嚴重而毫無必要的失誤，它在侵犯我們主權方面已造成了嚴重後果。”

He added that the lack of co-operation had resulted in the escape of a criminal who should have faced justice for drug trafficking.

皮卡爾多補充說，由於雙方缺乏合作，已導致原本應因販毒而面臨審判的罪犯得以逃脫。

“We all want to stop the drug smugglers,” he said. “It beggars belief that the SVA have acted in this way that, in effect, has allowed a criminal who should be behind bars to get away.”

他說：“我們都希望阻止販毒。難以相信SVA會以這種方式行事，這種行事方式在實質上令本應被繩之以法的犯罪分子得以逃脫。”

But the Spanish authorities denied any wrongdoing.

不過，西班牙當局否認有過任何不當行爲。

An official from the foreign ministry said: “The waters are Spanish”.

西班牙外交部一名官員稱：“這片水域是西班牙的。”

“It was Spanish boats patrolling in Spanish waters to control illegal activities such as tobacco smuggling or illegal fishing,” the official added.

這名官員補充說：“這次行動的性質是，西班牙艦艇爲遏制菸草走私或非法捕魚等違法活動，在西班牙水域展開巡邏。”