BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC -The Belize authorities says it can “strongly protest the unlawful incursion” by a Guatemalan naval vessel in its territorial waters close to Ragged Caye, about three miles south of Looking Caye this week.
The commandant of the Belize Coast Guard, Rear Admiral Elton Bennett, reported that there was an change of phrases between the boat’s personnel and a Belizean Coast Guard patrol.
Guatemalan ship in Belizean waters
In a press release, the Ministry of International Affairs and International Commerce stated it had acquired details about a Guatemalan vessel illegally traversing Belizean waters within the space of the Sapodilla Cayes.
“The Ministry of International Affairs and International Commerce has confirmed that the Guatemalan vessel didn’t run aground, as reported, and members of the Belize Coast Guard, after participating with the Guatemalan officers on board, escorted the Guatemalan patrol boat out of Belizean waters.”
The ministry stated that it “will vehemently protest the unlawful incursion by the Guatemalan patrol boat into Belizean waters and can name on the Guatemalan authorities to dissuade their armed forces from persevering with to traverse into Belizean waters with out authorization from Belizean authorities.
“The Ministry of International Affairs and International Commerce will proceed to interact with the Ministry of International Affairs of Guatemala to insist that its Armed Forces respect the maritime and territorial integrity of Belize and its internationally acknowledged borders,” the assertion stated.
Rear Admiral Bennett stated that the 65-foot-long Guatemalan vessel seemed to be a hydrography vessel belonging to the Guatemalan Navy.
He stated that the Belize Coast Guard patrol had knowledgeable these on board the vessel that “they have been inside Belizean waters.
“It was an change of phrases at that location. Finally, the Guatemalan patrol vessel departed. We escorted that vessel exterior of Belizean waters. From right here, the Ministry of Protection will inform the Ministry of International Affairs, who will then take the lead in following up with a protest be aware.
“We imagine that the diplomatic channels would kick in, and that’s the route we are going to depend on to verify precisely what occurred. It wasn’t an aggressive encounter, regardless that they have been inside Belizean waters. No weapons have been drawn, and it was not a grounding,” he added.
Guatemala and Berlese have a centuries-old territorial dispute that facilities on Guatemala’s declare to greater than half of Belize’s territory,
Guatemala claims the territory as an inheritance from Spain, the previous colonial energy within the area. Guatemala withdrew from a border treaty with Britain in 1939 and continued to advance its declare, even after Belize gained independence in 1981.
In 2018, Belize took the matter earlier than the Worldwide Court docket of Justice (ICJ) within the Hague, and the Guatemalans did the identical the next 12 months. The problem was formalized earlier than the ICJ on June 12, 2019.
Caribbean Neighborhood (CARICOM) nations have reiterated their “agency and loyal assist for the upkeep and preservation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity” of Belize.
They urged Belize, Guatemala, and the Group of American States (OAS) to proceed totally implementing the confidence-building measures, which have been in place since 2005, pending the decision of Guatemala’s declare on the ICJ.
