Dear Editor,
It was good to read about the 'Big things lined up in the Jamaica-Colombia alliance' in the Sunday Observer of December 22, 2013 as there was the potential for the news to have been not so hopeful.
A few hundred miles west of Jamaica there is a geopolitical hot spot in the Caribbean Sea. Although a lot less turbulent than the East China Sea -- and of course involving different regional players -- it nevertheless includes the world's two superpowers.
The USA and China are playing it cool, though. The former is concentrating on protecting the homeland from drug smuggling, and the latter is literally minding its business by focusing on regional trade and investment.
The countries affected are Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, and Nicaragua. The immediate cause of trouble is the award of part of the Caribbean Sea to Nicaragua by the International Court (ICJ) in November 2012. This expands Nicaragua's maritime territory by more than seven times the size of Jamaica.
Historically, this area had been under Colombian control. Colombia has rejected the ICJ ruling, withdrawn from the court's jurisdiction, and accused the ICJ's Chinese judge of bias by knowing the interested parties and supposedly favouring the proposed Chinese inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua.
Jamaica and Colombia jointly manage a maritime zone in this area whose boundaries may now be challenged by Nicaragua. Significantly, President Santos of Colombia had asked his affected regional neighbours to sign a protest letter to the UN. Costa Rica and Panama signed the letter. Jamaica did not. We sent a separate note. It is clear that the Santos Government thought Jamaica agreed with their strategy and were expecting support.
There has been no coverage of this in the local media so it's not possible to say if we have subsequently offered an explanation to Colombia. It is worth noting, however, that the Chinese canal in Nicaragua is more feasible with this increased access to the Caribbean. In turn, the canal also makes the proposed Chinese mega port in Jamaica more economically viable. Stitching together friendly seas of Nicaragua and Jamaica makes for smooth sailing for China's shipping infrastructure investments.
Is this part of their long-term strategy? If so, are we signalling our support? All of this is important because as one of his first official acts three years ago, President Santos visited Jamaica and committed his Government to action in areas of interest within a special commission which manages the relationship between the countries. Pointedly he said there had been a lack of political will for action. One area of development was exploration for oil and gas in the joint maritime area. This is practical.
Caricom and regional integration is challenging enough, let alone South-South initiatives such as with China. There are realistic benefits from a good working relationship with Colombia, crime-fighting techniques being an example. The recent visit to Bogota by our minister of national security makes sense. We should ask Colombia about their experience with Chinese promises of mega-projects. It was only two years ago that there was talk of a 'dry canal' (railway) that would have joined ports on Colombia's Caribbean and Pacific coasts. There is no mention of it today.
Jamaica should also be on the lookout for eventual pushback from the US against China's geo-strategic moves in the Caribbean. Maybe we should ask China to fund a geopolitics programme at one of our universities. It will be needed.
Michael Evelyn
malaneve@yahoo.com
Big things come with big consequences
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It was good to read about the 'Big things lined up in the Jamaica-Colombia alliance' in the Sunday Observer of December 22, 2013 as there was the potential for the news to have been not so hopeful.
A few hundred miles west of Jamaica there is a geopolitical hot spot in the Caribbean Sea. Although a lot less turbulent than the East China Sea -- and of course involving different regional players -- it nevertheless includes the world's two superpowers.
The USA and China are playing it cool, though. The former is concentrating on protecting the homeland from drug smuggling, and the latter is literally minding its business by focusing on regional trade and investment.
The countries affected are Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, and Nicaragua. The immediate cause of trouble is the award of part of the Caribbean Sea to Nicaragua by the International Court (ICJ) in November 2012. This expands Nicaragua's maritime territory by more than seven times the size of Jamaica.
Historically, this area had been under Colombian control. Colombia has rejected the ICJ ruling, withdrawn from the court's jurisdiction, and accused the ICJ's Chinese judge of bias by knowing the interested parties and supposedly favouring the proposed Chinese inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua.
Jamaica and Colombia jointly manage a maritime zone in this area whose boundaries may now be challenged by Nicaragua. Significantly, President Santos of Colombia had asked his affected regional neighbours to sign a protest letter to the UN. Costa Rica and Panama signed the letter. Jamaica did not. We sent a separate note. It is clear that the Santos Government thought Jamaica agreed with their strategy and were expecting support.
There has been no coverage of this in the local media so it's not possible to say if we have subsequently offered an explanation to Colombia. It is worth noting, however, that the Chinese canal in Nicaragua is more feasible with this increased access to the Caribbean. In turn, the canal also makes the proposed Chinese mega port in Jamaica more economically viable. Stitching together friendly seas of Nicaragua and Jamaica makes for smooth sailing for China's shipping infrastructure investments.
Is this part of their long-term strategy? If so, are we signalling our support? All of this is important because as one of his first official acts three years ago, President Santos visited Jamaica and committed his Government to action in areas of interest within a special commission which manages the relationship between the countries. Pointedly he said there had been a lack of political will for action. One area of development was exploration for oil and gas in the joint maritime area. This is practical.
Caricom and regional integration is challenging enough, let alone South-South initiatives such as with China. There are realistic benefits from a good working relationship with Colombia, crime-fighting techniques being an example. The recent visit to Bogota by our minister of national security makes sense. We should ask Colombia about their experience with Chinese promises of mega-projects. It was only two years ago that there was talk of a 'dry canal' (railway) that would have joined ports on Colombia's Caribbean and Pacific coasts. There is no mention of it today.
Jamaica should also be on the lookout for eventual pushback from the US against China's geo-strategic moves in the Caribbean. Maybe we should ask China to fund a geopolitics programme at one of our universities. It will be needed.
Michael Evelyn
malaneve@yahoo.com
Big things come with big consequences
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