Belize formally protests Sarstoon incident; commends BDF and Coast Guard for professionalism

By Zoila Palma:  The Government of Belize has formally protested an incident in which a deployment of approximately 18 Guatemalan military and civilian vessels obstructed Belizean nationals from completing their customary passage around Sarstoon Island on September 10.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade said it has dispatched a Note Verbale to Guatemala’s Ministry of External Affairs, registering Belize’s strongest protest over the incident.

The Belize Territorial Volunteers (BTV), escorted by the Belize Defence Force (BDF) and Belize Coast Guard, had travelled from Punta Gorda for their annual journey around Sarstoon Island, a passage undertaken by the group for nearly two decades.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted that the Guatemalan vessels were present in Belizean waters in the immediate vicinity of the island during the encounter.

The Ministry reaffirmed Belize’s position that the Sarstoon River forms part of the international boundary between Belize and Guatemala under the 1859 Boundary Treaty, with the boundary line running along the river’s mid-channel. It said Sarstoon Island lies within Belizean sovereign territory and argued that the deployment of the Guatemalan flotilla to obstruct the passage of unarmed Belizean nationals violated Belize’s sovereignty and represented an unwelcome escalation in an already sensitive border area.

Belize also formally notified its international partners and the Organization of American States (OAS) about the incident and its implications for regional stability.

The Government said it will seek an explanation from Guatemala’s Ambassador to Belize regarding what it described as the aggressive behaviour of the Guatemalan military, while Prime Minister John Briceño is expected to seek a bilateral meeting with Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly next week.

The Government of Belize reaffirmed its confidence in the International Court of Justice process as the appropriate mechanism for resolving Guatemala’s territorial, insular and maritime claims. It also said the incident will be brought to the attention of Belize’s international legal team for consideration at the ICJ, while commending the professionalism and restraint of the BDF and Belize Coast Guard in managing the encounter.

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