_{Photo: Guatemalan vessel escorted out of Belizean waters}

by William Ysaguirre

BELIZE CITY, Thurs. Dec. 19, 2024

The Belize National Coast Guard (BNCG) safely escorted a Guatemalan naval vessel out of Belizean southern waters on Tuesday morning, December 17, Coast Guard commandant, Admiral Elton Bennett informed the media later that day.

_{Photo: Admiral Elton Bennett}

A Coast Guard patrol boat had been dispatched from the BNCG Forward Operating Base at Hunting Caye around 8:30 a.m. to investigate reports of a Guatemalan vessel that had allegedly run aground on the Barrier Reef, but they found that this was not the case. They found a 65-foot vessel of the sort the Guatemalan Navy uses for hydrographic studies, about three miles south in an area near Rugged Caye. They informed the intruders that they were trespassing on Belizean territory, and after the visitors verified their position, they turned around and departed, with the Coast Guard seeing them safely out of Belize’s territorial seas.

The Defence Ministry then duly informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which in past cases like these has communicated with international authorities at the Organization of American States with a diplomatic letter protesting the intrusion, the letter copied to the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs later announced that it would “strongly protest the illegal incursion by the Guatemalan patrol boat into Belizean waters, and will call on the Guatemalan authorities to dissuade their armed forces from continuing to traverse into Belizean waters without authorization from Belizean authorities. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade will continue to engage with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Guatemala to insist that its Armed Forces respect the maritime and territorial integrity of Belize and its internationally recognized borders.”

Despite the latest satellite technology and Geographic Positioning Systems (GPS), Admiral Bennett admitted that it is sometimes difficult to determine what are Belizean territorial seas and what belongs to our neighbors, as there are no marker buoys, no internationally established demarcation line. The border is recognized as a line to be halfway between Belizean land territory and that of our neighbors, but this is not always so easy to determine when afloat. A territorial dispute between Belize and Guatemala is before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague, which is presently in the process of determining where the borderline should be. The Court will eventually hand down its ruling.

The Coast Guard has a duty to enforce Belizean laws within its jurisdiction in Belizean seas, and the Guatemalan incursions, whether inadvertent or deliberate, will continue to test our vigilance.

The government takes these trespassing incidents very seriously and will continue to lodge its protest through diplomatic channels, affirmed Prime Minister John Briceño on Wednesday. He said these disputes are best resolved peacefully, through diplomacy; and the Belize Coast Guard will continue to inform intruders who enter our space that they are trespassing on foreign territory, and to remove themselves. So far, the Guatemalan navy has not shown aggression, and they have been willing to acknowledge their trespass and leave.