Georgetown: Venezuela is currently deploying some 15,000 troops to its borders which it says is to combat drug trafficking but the announcement closely coincides with that country’s objection to the United Nations as it relates to Guyana’s application to extend its Continental Shelf.
Thousands of the Venezuelans soldiers will be posted along the Guyana Border but Commodore Gary Best of the Guyana Defence Force says while the army is subject to the directives of the Government in the form of the Commander in Chief Donald Ramotar the local army is always prepared and ready to defend its border’s security.
The Army Chief said that the operation by the Venezuelans is no surprise and is publicly available information but limited his comments on the tension that he says the two countries are addressing at a Government to Government level.
Commodore Best whilst restraining his comments, given the international ramifications of intensified tension, said that the Guyana Defence Force is always in a ‘stand ready’ mode once called upon to execute its duties.
He deferred further statements on the issue surrounding Guyana and Venezuela to the Subject Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.
The Venezuelans have labeled the drug combating initiative involving the 15,000 troops on the borders of Guyana, Colombia and Brazil, Operation Sentinel.
That country’s defense Minister reported to the Venezuelan media that, “The goal of the operation is to find and dismantle laboratories where illegal drugs are produced, and to root out traffickers.”
Venezuelan Defense Minister Gen. Henry Rangel Silva said, "We will carry out intelligence work and patrols to detect the possible camps for processing drugs," he said.
The Venezuelan Government recently formally restated its claims to western Essequibo, when it objected to Guyana’s application to extend its continental shelf by a further 15 nautical miles.
The application is viewed as critical to Guyana, which has in recent times been aggressively exploring its waters in search of oil and would be more than happy to acquire new fishing grounds.
According to the Venezuela Government on Tuesday, it is rejecting the fact that the UN’s Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS) is even considering Guyana’s request.
This is because the UN’s Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, has already appointed a Good Officer, Professor Norman Girvan, to look into the claims by Venezuela.
The Guyana Government subsequently called the move by Venezuela ‘regrettable’ adding that issue of the border dispute has been settled for decades now.
In a statement issued by Foreign Affairs Minister, Carolyn Rodriques-Birkett, it was stated that the Guyana Government made it clear that Guyana’s submission to the UN’s Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), pursuant to Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the Convention), was done in a manner fully consistent with the provisions of international law, including the Convention.
Regrettable
The Foreign Ministry said the move by Venezuela to object to Guyana’s application for the extension was deeply regrettable.
“The submission itself was made without prejudice to maritime delimitation with other states in accordance with the provisions of Article 76 (10) of the Convention. The decision of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to object to Guyana’s Submission to the CLCS is therefore deeply regrettable.”
Regarding the issue of western Essequibo, to which Venezuela continues to lay claim, the Foreign Ministry made it clear that the boundary with that neighbouring country was definitively settled by the Arbitral Award of October 3rd, 1899.
Guyana has also informed the CLCS, in its submission, that “there are no disputes in the region relevant to this submission of data and information relating to the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.
That statement remains legally and factually correct, the Ministry stressed.
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