Navy strength - Telegraph The impending arrival of a task force of Royal Navy warships at Gibraltar could not be more timely. With Spain openly discussing the possibility of forging an anti-British alliance with Argentina, the presence of several warships at the Rock's historic dockyard will send Madrid a clear message of Britain's unstinting resolve not to compromise over the sovereignty of a prized colony. While there seems faint prospect that Spain will repeat Argentina's grave miscalculation over the Falkland Islands in 1982, and attempt to claim Gibraltar by force of arms, the excessive security checks introduced on the Spanish side of the border bear all the hallmarks of a blockade. The presence of several British warships in the Gibraltar Strait will therefore help to reassure Gibraltarians that they are not alone in their latest dispute with their irrascible neighbours. The Royal Navy's appearance is certainly preferable to the European Commission's plan to send a team of monitors to the Spanish-Gibraltar border. Brussels has been strangely silent on an issue that has provoked heated exchanges between two of its largest members - and precisely what it intends to achieve by "monitoring" the border is unclear. What is beyond doubt, though, is that Spain's aggressive tactics are impeding the ability of the Rock's inhabitants, who also happen to be EU citizens, to go about their daily lives without fear of intimidation. Since Brussels seems reluctant to resolve the dispute, it is to be hoped that Britain will receive more satisfaction by launching legal action to prevent the Spanish from persisting with their bully-boy tactics. As long as Madrid feels it can act against Gibraltar with impunity, it will always be tempted to indulge in such petty posturing.