Belize considers diplomatic response after alleged Guatemalan military incursion
Key Points(5)
- Belize Prime Minister John Briceño has indicated that his government may recall Belize’s ambassador to Guatemala for consultations following an alleged incursion by a Guatemalan military aircraft into Belizean airspace.
- Briceño also said his administration could summon Guatemala’s ambassador as Belize weighs its response to the incident, which has added tension to the countries’ longstanding territorial dispute.
- The prime minister said Belize must respond carefully, while keeping diplomatic channels open and protecting the ongoing territorial case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
- “That’s what all countries do when something happens in another country.
- You bring in your ambassador to get a clear understanding, discuss it, and understand what’s going on from the other side.
Belize Prime Minister John Briceño has indicated that his government may recall Belize’s ambassador to Guatemala for consultations following an alleged incursion by a Guatemalan military aircraft into Belizean airspace.
Briceño also said his administration could summon Guatemala’s ambassador as Belize weighs its response to the incident, which has added tension to the countries’ longstanding territorial dispute.
The prime minister said Belize must respond carefully, while keeping diplomatic channels open and protecting the ongoing territorial case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
“That’s what all countries do when something happens in another country. You bring in your ambassador to get a clear understanding, discuss it, and understand what’s going on from the other side. Every country does that,” Briceño said.
He stressed the importance of maintaining communication with Guatemala despite the dispute.
“At the same time, it is important that we always remain connected with the Guatemalan government. We are neighbors; that’s not going to change,” he said.
Briceño said he remained confident that Belize would prevail in the ICJ case.
“We believe that at the ICJ, we have every confidence that we are going to win that case, so we have to maintain good relationships with Guatemala,” he said.
Belize and Guatemala have a longstanding territorial dispute, with Guatemala claiming territory, islands and maritime areas that Belize considers part of its sovereign territory. The dispute is currently before the ICJ.
The two countries resumed discussions on the dispute in March 2000 with the assistance of the Organization of American States (OAS). They signed their first Agreement on Confidence Building Measures on Nov. 8, 2000, establishing an “Adjacency Line” and a one-kilometer “Adjacency Zone” on either side.
A second agreement was signed on Feb. 7, 2003, and later amended in September 2005 through the Agreement on a Framework for Negotiation and Confidence Building Measures between Belize and Guatemala.
Briceño said last week that Belize had moved closer to a resolution of the dispute after being informed on Sept. 17 that the ICJ would begin hearing oral arguments in the Belize-Guatemala case in February 2027. The court will subsequently hear oral arguments in the separate Belize-Honduras case.
“For too long, our borders have been disputed by our neighbor, Guatemala. We look forward to the end of this process, when we believe Belize will be vindicated, and we can strengthen and enhance relations with the government and the great Guatemalan people,” Briceño said.
Guatemala has requested an OAS verification exercise into the latest incident. Briceño defended the request while questioning Guatemala’s handling of the matter.
“Let’s put it this way: if it were you, wouldn’t you do the same?” he said.
“Try to bluff your way out of something? And that’s exactly what they’re trying to do: bluff their way out, and I do have confidence in the OAS verification.”
Briceño said the OAS has been “quite even-handed” in its handling of issues involving the two countries, although he acknowledged that the organisation can sometimes take too long to complete its work.
Guatemalan officials have agreed to submit reports and the aircraft involved for review, while Guatemalan leaders have denied that the alleged flight occurred.
Meanwhile, Belize Opposition Leader Tracy Panton said the incident should not be politicized and called for a nonpartisan approach to protecting the country’s territorial integrity.
“The situation with the veiled and maybe not-so-veiled threats of the Guatemalan military, the aggression, the intimidation that we experienced this month in particular is no laughing matter,” Panton said.
“It should not be something we take lightly. It should not also be something we politicize. There should be a nonpartisan approach to safeguarding Belize’s territorial integrity and to protecting our sovereignty,” she added.
Panton said Belize should continue relying on diplomacy given the military imbalance between the two countries.
“The truth of the matter is, Belize does not have the military firepower that our neighbor in Guatemala has. So, we have to use diplomacy. But we must use it with clarity, with consistency, and we need to ensure we remain true to the concerns of the Belizean people,” she said.
Panton also criticized what she described as mixed signals from the government, pointing to social interactions between Belizean and Guatemalan officials.
“You can’t say, on one hand, that you denounce Guatemala’s aggression and then, on the other hand, your wife is spending time with Guatemala’s first lady. It is wholly unacceptable,” she said.
