MADRID: Moroccan warships entered Ceuta’s waters during and after July’s migrant surge in a rare violation of Spanish sovereignty in the north African territory claimed by Rabat, media reported on Monday.
The report comes on the eve of the first royal visit to Ceuta since 2007, which could strain Spain’s historically delicate relations with Morocco over the city’s status.
Spanish daily El Pais said at least one Moroccan frigate and several patrol boats entered Spanish waters without prior authorization, quoting unnamed “sources with knowledge of these incidents.”
“It was not... a mere crossing or an accidental entry, rather an intentional and repeated violation of territorial waters, for which there are few precedents,” El Pais said, referring to the anonymous sources.
“Morocco’s naval incursions continued during the first days of August, amid high tensions, and almost caused a collision between military boats from both countries,” El Pais reported.
Only the intervention of the Spanish navy and the defense ministry stopped the Moroccan incursions, it said.
Questions have swirled over the potential role Rabat played in the unprecedented, deadly rush of more than 70,000 migrants from Morocco into Ceuta on July 30-31.
The Spanish right accuses Morocco of orchestrating the entries for political motives as Rabat claims sovereignty over Ceuta and Spain’s other north African territory, Melilla.
Spain’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who has striven to improve relations with Rabat during his eight years in power, has said no “solid proof” exists for those claims.
Moroccan King Mohammed VI broke his silence on Friday, condemning “the irresponsible statements made by certain political and media circles and their blatant instrumentalization of the situation,” in apparent reference to Spanish criticism.
He told parliament that his country’s partnership with Spain “is a sovereign choice and a voluntary commitment, which cannot be subject to any pressure or threat, nor to any form of blackmail.”
El Pais said its sources refused to speculate if the Moroccan naval incursions were deliberately coordinated with the migrant rush, but added that the incident “raised bilateral tension.”
The Spanish defense ministry had not responded to a request for comment.
Tuesday’s visit to Ceuta by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia carries great symbolic weight and could test relations with Morocco, after a 2007 trip by former monarch Juan Carlos sparked a diplomatic crisis.