What is the point of having Rockall as British territory? ?

Question

I mean it doesn't do anything much, it's just a rock, you can't build on it or anything

Answer 1

The island of Rockall enables the British Government to claim a huge swathe of continental shelf under the Atlantic Ocean west of Scotland as British Territorial Waters.  And there are good reasons to believe that the underlying rocks in this area could contain large quantities of undiscovered oil and gas.

It's not quite the same reason as why Britain went to war over the Falklands.  I somehow cannot see Gordon Brown launching a invasion in order to win the next election!

To Tenko Cowboy (below): oh dear, have you no sense of irony???  From the Argentinian perspective, I'm sure they saw Thatcher's task force as an "invasion"...

Answer 2

One day we will use it to lower all the druggies and the no goods on it by helicopter and let them survive or perish as to be very blunt we cannot afford to keep going at the rate we are without them finding out that their actions have consequences

Answer 3

grpr1964? Bizzare statement you made, It would seem that you know nothing. Argentina invaded the Falklands you stupid boy.

Answer 4

It's all about future mineral exploration.

Incidentally, Britain is also claiming the stretch of Atlantic between St. Helena, and Ascension Island, a Huge area based on the fact that there are no countries nearby which can make a legitimate claim.

This article might clarify it

Answer 5

But it is part of the british Territorial waters and there may be valuable resources to be found in years to come

Answer 6

Ah well, it does increase terribly the British territorial waters, doesn't it? Do you know about fishery waters and ... seabed mining?

This is the same reason Britain went to war for the Falklands. Not much on the islands but ... the territorial waters! ...

Incidentally, I am Norwegian and we do the same thing with the island of Jan Mayen, very far north from Norway but ...