London:
Britain on Saturday readied armed Royal Navy ships to patrol its fishing waters if tempers flare soon after a “no-deal” Brexit as a make-or-break deadline approached for talks with the European Union.
Four 80-metre (260-feet) vessels have been placed on standby to guard British waters from EU trawlers in case the two sides choose to abandon efforts to safe a cost-free-trade agreement on Sunday.
The improvement is portion of improved contingency preparing on each sides of the Channel, and evokes memories of the “Cod Wars” with Iceland more than fishing rights in the North Atlantic in the 1960s and 70s.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stated it is “very, very likely” the talks will fail, and Britain will revert to World Trade Organization (WTO) terms with its biggest single trading companion.
European leaders have also been told the possibilities of a deal are slim with each sides at loggerheads more than guidelines to govern fair competitors and fishing rights in British territorial waters.
Deal or no deal, Britain will leave the EU single industry and customs union on the evening of December 31, more than 4 years soon after a landmark referendum on membership of the bloc.
– ‘Robust enforcement’ –
Retired Admiral Alan West, who as chief of naval employees and First Sea Lord from 2002 to 2006 was Britain’s highest-ranking naval officer, stated readying the Fishery Protection Squadron, was a sensible move in case tensions spill more than.
“It’s absolutely appropriate that the Royal Navy should protect our waters if the position is we’re a sovereign state and the government says we don’t want any other nation’s fishing boats there,” he told BBC radio.
The River-class patrol vessels of the Fishery Protection Squadron — the Royal Navy’s oldest frontline squadron with a history dating back more than 500 years — currently enforce UK and EU fisheries law.
Hardline Brexit-supporting Conservative MPs have sought assurances that the navy need to be deployed to guard British waters in the occasion of a “no-deal”.
Tory lawmaker Daniel Kawczynski stated it would aid “prevent illegal French fishing”.
But his colleague Tobias Ellwood, a former British Army captain and now chairman of parliament’s defence choose committee, stated that would not go down properly internationally.
“We’re facing the prospect of our overstretched Royal Navy squaring up to a close NATO ally over fishing rights,” he told BBC radio.
“This isn’t the Elizabethan times anymore. It’s Global Britain,” he added, referring to the country’s new post-EU foreign policy.
“We need to be building alliances not breaking them apart.”
The Ministry of Defence confirmed it has performed “extensive planning and preparation” for a variety of post-Brexit scenarios from January 1, and has 14,000 personnel on standby to aid with the transition.
The 4 offshore patrol boats would be portion of a “robust enforcement measures in place to protect the UK’s rights as an independent coastal state” that could also involve helicopter surveillance.
– Planning issues –
WTO terms would imply tariffs and quotas, driving up costs for companies and buyers, and the re-introduction of border checks for the very first time in decades.
That has currently raised the prospect of heavy visitors clogging roads major to seaports in southern and southeast England, as bureaucracy lengthens waiting instances for imports and exports.
Transport organizations have also warned that EU member Ireland could see import volumes shrink in the occasion of new customs procedures for goods routed by way of Britain.
“As an industry we’re looking to plan ahead but there’s so many unknowns it becomes difficult,” stated Road Haulage Association director Martin Reid.
Logjams at the Felixstowe container port in eastern England and elsewhere have currently raised fears of more to come, and delays in deliveries to shops, companies and sector.
But the government stated they had been primarily triggered by a “global spike” in demand for customer goods and the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on shipping patterns and container capacity.
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