Spain-Morocco Maritime Border Dispute Remains Unresolved Two Years After Agreement

It has already been two years since Morocco and Spain adopted a new roadmap for their relations. On April 7, 2022 in Rabat, Pedro Sanchez and Mohammed VI had defined in this document the points of contention to be settled in order to normalize relations between their countries. Regarding the delimitation of territorial waters with the Canary Islands, which is one of these points, nothing has moved, reveals HuffPost, noting that neither country has provided information on the current state of negotiations on this issue.

Yet the two parties expressly mentioned in the roadmap that "the working group on the delimitation of maritime spaces on the Atlantic coast will be reactivated, with the aim of making concrete progress". Rabat and Madrid must act quickly to find a clear and urgent answer to this crucial issue in order to avoid new tensions. The Royal Moroccan Navy is currently conducting military maneuvers in the waters of the Sahara, off the Canary Islands, which has raised concerns from the government of the archipelago. These exercises started last month and will continue until June.

In 2020, Morocco had approved two laws relating to the delimitation of its territorial waters, including the waters around the archipelago in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Spain "up to the outer limit of the continental shelf". Due to the conflict with the Canary Islands on this issue, Morocco has postponed the entry into force of these laws in order to reach an agreement with the archipelago, which wants the delimitation to be carried out in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Morocco and Spain have other points of friction such as the sovereignty of Ceuta and Melilla, the Chafarinas Islands, the Perejil islet and the rocks of Vélez de la Gomera and Al Hoceima, claimed by the kingdom.