Defence diplomacy Editorial
Stabroek News
April 11, 2007

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The Guyana Defence Force has been quietly reinforcing its relationships with foreign governments and armed forces - moves that can only heighten national defence and strengthen the force itself.

In what can be said to constitute some sort of defence diplomacy, the GDF has been the fortunate recipient of materiel and training from the armed forces of friendly foreign countries. The presence of foreign military attachés and liaison officers in Georgetown, though few in number, also fosters cooperation, and facilitates visits by senior officers to Guyana as well as foreign visits by Guyanese.

Earlier this month, US Ambassador Mr David Robinson handed over several radios and other communications equipment to secretary of the Guyana Defence Board Dr Roger Luncheon. The equipment is intended to enhance the country's capabilities to better secure its international borders and to interdict narcotics trafficking - matters in which the USA has a deep interest.

Only last month, Dr Luncheon who is also chairman of the Civil Defence Commission received a huge warehouse containing civil defence and disaster relief supplies from Ambassador Robinson in the presence of Brigadier General Purl Keen, Commanding General of US Army South. This US project is a response to the Civil Defence Commission's weak response to the great flood of 2005.

In October last year, commander of the United States Marine Corps Forces South Brigadier General John Croley, as did General John Craddock the previous year, paid a visit to iterate USA's concerns about narco-trafficking and human-trafficking and to discuss the tardy implementation of the Maritime Law Enforcement 'Shiprider' Agreement between the two countries.

The GDF has a long-standing relationship with the US Southern Command which has provided training and military materiel such as the motor life- boats for the Coast Guard. At present, several Guyanese cadets are being trained at the US Military Academy at West Point and the Naval Academy at Annapolis.

Over the years, dental, medical and engineering teams have conducted significant civilian humanitarian work; training teams have helped the Coast Guard; and forensic teams investigated the disaster in which the GDF ordnance arsenal was destroyed and the theft of assault rifles from the ordnance bond.

The People's Republic of China's People's Liberation Army has also provided material and training. Last December, GDF Chief of Staff Brigadier Edward Collins and PRC Ambassador Zhang Jungao signed an agreement for the force to receive more military assistance from the PRC. In the past, the PLA donated ambulances, clothing, musical instruments, tentage and other equipment.

The GDF has always sought cordial relations with continental states. Guyanese and Brazilian Army officers meet annually as part of their military intelligence exchange programme. Earlier this month, a platoon of twenty-five GDF soldiers travelled to French Guiana to participate in the annual jungle warfare training exercise at the French Army Jungle Centre. By agreement, a French Army platoon also came to the GDF's Jungle Warfare Training Centre. French Navy patrol boats, especially the familiar La Capricieuse, regularly visit Georgetown.

The GDF, on the other hand, has helped where it could. The force deployed over 100 troops for several months in 2004-2005 to assist Grenada which had been badly damaged by Hurricane Ivan. This was its longest and costliest outreach; it had previously sent humanitarian missions to Antigua, Jamaica and Montserrat in the aftermath of destructive hurricanes in those islands. The force also participates regularly alongside other Caribbean defence and police forces in 'Exercise Tradewinds', sponsored by the United States Southern Command.

Defence diplomacy does contribute to building confidence between armed forces and, in extreme cases, to resolving disputes, preventing conflict and managing crises between states. Guyana has gained much by establishing itself as a reliable partner in hemispheric security and stability and this form of diplomacy should be enhanced.