A Spanish warship with its guns manned ordered commercial ships to leave British Gibraltar waters, the territory's government said.
Royal Navy ships were deployed in response to the incident. The Spanish warship's crew can be heard in an audio recording of a radio exchange telling ships anchored at Gibraltar to "leave Spanish territorial waters". Commercial boats which were told to move were ordered to remain by the Gibraltar Port Authority. The actions of the Spanish navy were branded "foolish" by a spokesman for Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar.
The spokesman added: "There is only nuisance value to these foolish games being played by those who don't accept unimpeachable British sovereignty over the waters around Gibraltar, as recognised by the whole world in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
"It seems there are still some in the Spanish navy who think they can flout international law.
