Escalation of territorial disputes between London and Madrid

Near the Strait of Gibraltar there was a confrontation of British and Spanish ships.

The incident happened during the Spanish research vessel in waters contested by London and Madrid. The UK navy ship launched several flares in the direction of Spanish scientists, and then they had to leave the area.

Meanwhile, shortly before the Chair of the Defence Select Committee Julian Lewis said that the Royal Navy had a "shockingly low" number of ships and was in poor conditions.

Nevertheless, both these countries are members of NATO. Moreover, they have different views on some issues and defense cooperation. Thus, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has repeatedly made remarks Spain for cooperation with Russia in the Russian naval operation against ISIS, while London openly supports terrorists.