Innocent passage” is a term in maritime law that lets foreign ships pass through the territorial waters of a coastal state. Morocco cites this as the legal basis for events like the one on July 30 and for having ships at the Ceuta border while many people were coming in.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea sets the rules for this idea. Spain actually watched these movements without getting involved until July 30. But things have changed since the last two days of July.
According to a military source cited by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo (in Spanish), the Maritime Action Operations and Surveillance Centre (COVAM) monitored the previously unrelated passage. Ships that sail out to meet Moroccan ships intensify the monitoring. We are more alert; we no longer wait for them to enter before we act.
Moroccan-flagged ships aren’t doing as much business as they used to, and the Interior Ministry, the Civil Guard, and the Navy all say no innocent passage occurred during or after the royal visit.
A patrol boat called Isla de León (source in Spanish) has been sent to Melilla. It has 10 people on board and a Browning machine gun. It also operates in the waters around Perejil Island and Ceuta. Because of the Moroccan offensive, all attention is now on Melilla.
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