With the Long-Term Plan 2019-2028, the deployment of the Caribbean Coastguard is financially guaranteed for the coming years. The Caribbean Coastguard has a total of € 168 million up to and including 2028, intended for equipment replacements. The four countries in the Kingdom jointly provide financial coverage for the budget. This is stated in the Administrative Agreements, which were discussed in the Council of Ministers today together with the Long Term Plan (LTP) 2019-2028 of the Caribbean Coastguard. Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten (Defense) presented the documents to the House of Representatives today.
The Caribbean Coastguard has existed since 1996. It is a partnership between all countries within the kingdom. The Netherlands (69%), Aruba (11%), Curaçao (16%) and Sint Maarten (4%) contribute proportionally to the costs. The contribution of the Netherlands comes from the budget of Defense.
The partnership can safely be called successful. As a maritime law enforcement officer, the Caribbean Coastguard is an indispensable link in the security chain in the Caribbean part of the kingdom.
The coastguard does not only focus on the surveillance of the maritime external borders. The organization also plays an important role in the fight against cross-border crime and has tasks of surveillance, search and rescue and disaster relief.
In order to be able to perform these tasks properly in the coming years, equipment must be replaced periodically. The Ministry of Defense provides insight into this with the LTP. Of the 168 million, 159.9 million goes to investments for equipment replacements. The remaining amount is intended for operating costs.
The Ministry of Defense, as manager of the Caribbean Coastguard, considers it essential that the operational deployment of the Caribbean Coastguard remains guaranteed. Certainly in the current era, in which drug crime and extreme weather are on the rise. In addition, the region is faced with unstable Venezuela, human smuggling and migration problems.
