Bdos: Caricom could be carigone ... again

JUST AS we were beginning to think the Trinidad and Tobago-Venezuela Maritime Delimitation Treaty had created only a fissure in our relationship; we got news that Barbados had recently signed a similar treaty with Guyana.

From a strategic standpoint this makes sense as it forces all four parties to come to the bargaining table to arrive at an equitable settlement in keeping with the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Guyana has now threatened to be a party to the dispute as the Venezuela-Trinidad and Tobago treaty also has implications for the development of its own exclusive economic zone. We think this is the preferred course of action since there is no mechanism under the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to deal with these problems, which could create a chasm in CARICOM if not handled delicately.

This development, however, has the potential to fracture CARICOM relations as three of the major countries critical to the functioning of the proposed CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) would be engaged in dispute settlement proceedings under UNCLOS.