EDITORIAL - Resolving the rift between Jamaica, Honduras

These days when technology has shrunk the world and communication is almost instant, it took an inordinately long time for our foreign minister, Dr Ken Baugh, to speak directly to his Honduran counterpart, Mario Canahuati, about the incident near the Pedro Bank where our coastguard fired on a Honduran fishing vessel, killing its captain and wounding two other crew members.

The ministers spoke last Thursday, five days after the confrontation.

Honduras does not have an embassy in Jamaica. So, despite the efforts of the Mexicans, who keep a watch on Tegucigalpa's interests here, it took that long to arrange the telephone discussion. This highlights, it seems, a gap in Jamaica's diplomatic structure and its ability to respond with urgency to issues involving some of its close and potentially significant neighbours.

Tensions eased

The good thing, at this point, though, is that both sides have spoken and tensions have been eased over Honduras' claim that our coastguard used excessive force against the vessel that Jamaica says was fishing illegally in its waters.

So, there will be no need for Dwight Nelson, the national security minister, to - as wags in Kingston have suggested he might - send an armada of canoes to declare war on Honduras.

All this, of course, does not mean that the matter has been settled. The Hondurans may not be outwardly angry but remain aggrieved over the event.

On the other hand, while Jamaica, as the weekend statement by the foreign ministry on the talks between Dr Baugh and Mr Canahuati indicated, regretted the casualties, it continues to insist that the incident "was precipitated by the unlawful actions of the Honduran vessel".

Importantly, however, the foreign ministers agreed on the importance of diplomacy to prevent an escalation of tension. Their officials are to maintain communication.

Against the backdrop of these developments, this newspaper believes there are a number of issues for our foreign ministry to address, some of which we have already raised.

The first is the need for a thorough audit of Jamaica's Central American policy, in particular our relationship with those countries in the area with which we share sea borders and exclusive economic zones under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Clearly, last week's events, and our scrambling around to determine with whom Mr Baugh should talk, point to weaknesses in policy as well as an absence of communication channels with some of these critical neighbours. Illegal fishing in Jamaican waters by Honduran and other vessels is a problem that does not take place in one direction. There is, too, the movement of contraband. Problems are bound to arise.

The countries in the region, including, perhaps, the insular northern Caribbean should craft a cooperation agreement on security. It is also urgent that Jamaica and Honduras resume negotiations on a delimitation treaty as well as the mapping of protocols for sharing the resources of their common seas.

Early on his return from his World Trade Organisation review meeting in Geneva, Dr Baugh should invite Mr Canahuati to Kingston to pursue this agenda.

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