Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 12/Jan 02:36

Is a Caribbean army the answer to foreign threats?

In the face of rising geopolitical tension, historian Dr Jerome Teelucksingh has suggested the formation of a Caribbean army. In a face-to-face interview on January 6, Teelucksingh said the time had come for all Caribbean countries to form an army as well as to come together and spend on regional defence. He said, “I think an army is essential because of the increasing hostility around the world and because of our position in the international community, the transnational linkages with trade etc.” The idea was not impossible to Teelucksingh as he referenced the British West Indies Regiment. The regiment was formed in 1915. The UK’s National Army Museum said on its website, “On the outbreak of the First World War (1914-18), thousands of men from the West Indies volunteered to support the British imperial war effort. Many joined the West India Regiment, while others made their own way to Britain, enlisting in other units of the British Army. “Despite the growing numbers, the War Office was reluctant to deploy these volunteers as a new combat unit. Instead, they regarded them as potential labourers, who could assist in essential, but menial, logistic roles. However, following the intervention of King George V, the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR) was formed in 1915. “The new regiment raised 11 battalions during the war and over 15,600 men enlisted. Most of Britain's Caribbean colonies were represented among its ranks, but the majority of soldiers were from Jamaica.” For Teelucksingh, the formation of a combined army is critical. “I believe a Caribbean army is critical. It is not impossible, during World War I we had the British West Indian army with Cipriani and Butler and they served in that. “In World War II we served under Britain. So it is not something airy, fairy or sci fi. This is a reality in the 20th century we had a Caribbean army but it was under British rule.” Teelucksingh said a base was needed for the 21st century Caribbean army. “We can use a structure like the Federation. We had a little problem where the capital would be, a little rivalry but we have to move away from that inter-island rivalry. It is too petty.” A structure similar to that used by the US and Canadian armies can be used for a regional one, he said. He said while these structures included drafts and might create problems, it should be explained to the people that while it is voluntary and optional, it is important for the region’s security. “There will be some hiccups to create the Caribbean army. I envision there will be a problem, Jamaica and TT might say they don’t want to put up so much to support the army. “But it is obvious that the wealthiest economies would have to put up money.” This time around Spanish, Dutch and French-speaking islands should be included. Training was also required and he suggested that this could be done through scholarships offered by multinational corporations. He also spoke of a regional defence budget but saying that it was needed but also needed to be carefully managed. “We don’t want to know that our precious money is being used for the military and the hospitals don’t have the medicine. Or there’s an increase in vagrancy or illiteracy because money is going for the military.” Teelucksingh said the army did not have to include new formations but could be built from existing national armies “We don’t have to start from scratch. Every country has police and military support. They can be incorporated into that new regional body.” He referenced drones, robots and AI while saying the region would need the most advanced technology in building defence to regional threats. He did not only think these should be imported but said the region needed to develop military research labs that would create unique regional defence systems. Teelucksingh said the Ministries of Defence and Education should collaborate to create courses at institutions like the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of TT (COSTATT) in military science. He added that first world countries would not want to share that kind of knowledge with the region and that was why it was important for the region to create its own. “They never treated us, historically, as an equal territory.” He said many of these leaders saw the region as footstools and never as equals. He gave a timeline of one or two years to get it started and said that it did not need Caricom to do so. There were other bodies like The Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our America (ALBA) under which it could be formed. ‘It’s not possible’ Political scientist Dr Bishnu Ragoonath, however, believes that is not possible because of the fractured nature of the region. In a phone interview he said, “It is a historian who came up with some of these suggestions and it is good and proper to see what has been applied in other places.” He said Teelucksingh should have recognised that the Caribbean operates on a different wavelength [caption id="attachment_1147279" align="alignnone" width="900"] Political scientist Dr Bishnu Ragoonath -[/caption]   The only things to survive the short-lived political union known as the West Indies Federation were the University of the West Indies (UWI) and West Indies cricket team. The federation existed from 1958-1962 and was a political union of ten territories including Jamaica, Barbados and TT. “We have seen under Caricom the attempt to set up the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) but, yet, it has not been able to engage the entire region. And those are the challenges that we face.” There have even been problems with implementation of the Caribbean Common Market as it had not been applied by every country in the region. He also cited the Caricom Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (Impacs) but said that, too, has challenges. “There is that question, now, of to what extent do these institutions that we have right now operate with the kind of respect that we need? Now, you are talking about bringing in a Caribbean military force, to what extent do we put that as being a workable issue?” Ragoonath said the region needed to dig deeper into developing and strengthening Caricom. That meant coming up with acceptable, workable, qualities that would be accepted across the board by all regional countries, he said. “We do not have that right now. In fact, the mere fact that TT has an embassy in Washington, Barbados has an embassy in Washington and Guyana has an embassy in Washington tells us that we can’t even come up with one common foreign policy to deal with one country.” Ragoonath said, in his opinion, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s statement about Caricom being an unreliable partner was misinterpreted. Late last year, Persad-Bissessar’s comments dominated headlines as she was quoted as saying Caricom was an unreliable partner and that it was a self-destructive and dysfunctional organisation. “I don’t think she was saying dump Caricom, I think she was saying fix Caricom. I could be wrong but Caricom needs fixing. All the dysfunctions in Caricom have to be dealt with headlong.” Caricom needed to be revisited as common policy perspectives for the region were needed and those could be formed by “signing off a pen” and had to be dealt with through proper negotiation, he added. Asked if there was an immediate solution to external threats, Ragoonath said no and the only possible solution was to depend on the former colonial masters. “I don’t think there is any way any one could talk about setting up any institution today that could serve within the next two years in dealing with any of the threats and challenges facing the Caribbean.” He referenced the debate surrounding the phrase the Zone of Peace and asked which Caribbean people referred to when they spoke about that. He agreed that Spanish-speaking and French-speaking countries needed to be included but he asked if those countries would truly be serious about the region’s people as compared to others like Mexico, Panama and Columbia. “To what extent are they going to seek our interest as opposed to their own? I am not saying don’t have the conversation, don’t open the conversation which is all well and good. “But don’t look at it as if it is going to be a panacea and correct all of our problems in the next three months. It is not going to happen,” he said. When asked about a regional defence budget, Ragoonath asked bluntly who would pay for it as institutions like The UWI were in trouble because countries obligated to pay were not doing so. “Which country has the extra resources now to pay for these kinds of things? We have to look at these things realistically.”   The post Is a Caribbean army the answer to foreign threats? appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.