The British warship HMS Westminster set sail on Tuesday on a training exercise that will include a stop at Gibraltar, the territory at the center of a row between the UK and Spain.

The type 23 frigate left Portsmouth naval base on England's south coast to join nine other Royal Navy vessels heading for the Mediterranean and the Gulf.

Defense officials said the training exercise has long been planned and follows similar deployments in 2011 and 2012, but it comes at a time of heightened tensions over Gibraltar.

The British government on Monday said it was considering legal action over "totally disproportionate" border checks imposed by Spain on the British outpost. But Spain refused to stop the checks, and has said it was considering taking the row over the disputed territory to the United Nations.

Relatives of sailors on the HMS Westminster waved off the warship as it began a seven-month deployment.

"I think they are sending a very strong message," said Stephen Kirk, who came to see off his granddaughter, 19-year-old sailor Samantha Kirk.

AFP

(China Daily 08/14/2013 page12)