Venezuelan Rumbles

Sep 28, 2011 Editorial

It would seem that not all is quiet on the western front.
Just when we might have thought that the Venezuelan land grab to two-thirds of our territory had receded to just an ugly footnote in hemispheric realpolitik, reports out of Venezuela suggest that the controversy might once again erupt.
It all began with a seemingly innocuous application of Guyana, pursuant to Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLS), to ascertain whether Guyana could extend its boundaries from 200 to 350 nautical miles into the Atlantic Ocean.
Article 76 defines the term “Continental Shelf” as follows: “The continental shelf of a coastal State comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance.”
What this means is that all coastal states are entitled to 200 nautical miles but if there is a continental shelf, the country’s boundary could extend to its margin to a maximum of 350 nautical miles. Back in 2002, Guyana initiated a study to determine whether Guyana qualified for the extra real estate. No squawks from Venezuela. It took awhile, but after the study pronounced positively, Guyana provided initial information to the Secretary General of the United Nations regarding its claim to the extended continental shelf in 2009. Still not a peep from the west.
It was only three weeks ago when the official application was made that objections are being made. If Guyana has rights to 200 nautical miles into the Atlantic at the present time – while Venezuela’s spurious claim is before the UN Secretary General Good Offices process – nothing is altered if that boundary is extended.
As the Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett said when announcing the action, all Guyana was doing was to secure “its interest and to ensure that, in the future, it has the legal basis to benefit from and to protect its rights”. As a matter of fact, since Venezuela is not a signatory to the UNCLS it should view Guyana’s move as inflating its purported “claim”.
For its part, the Venezuelan government is evidently piqued that the Government of Guyana “did not previously inform of this action, although fluid communication mechanisms, like the Good Officer of the Office of the UN Secretary General or the permanent bilateral dialogue the authorities of both countries keep at the highest level, exist.” It stated somewhat vaguely that it “has proceeded to evaluate this irregular situation in order to respond correctly in the light of international law and it is taking the necessary actions to preserve its right on the projection of its seafront.”
What was heartening was the conclusion of the press release by the Venezuelan Government: “The government of President Hugo Chávez, expresses its utmost willingness to build constructive and respectful relations with the Republic of Guyana and ratifies that it will continue to defend the vital interests of the country in the firmest way through the internationally established dialogue mechanisms. In this regard, it reaffirms its commitment to the process of the Good Officer of the Office of the UN Secretary General.”
The note refers to the efforts of the political opposition in Venezuela to exploit the strong nationalistic sentiments on the border controversy so as to create tensions between Venezuela and Guyana – while making local political hay. In Guyana, we have to also be careful not to be drawn into pointless polemics. Even though this newspaper expressed grave early reservations about the position of the Chávez administration on the border controversy, we must accept that unlike previous Venezuelan regimes (their successors now in the opposition) the present regime has acted very maturely, for instance, when the development of hydropower in Essequibo has been placed on our agenda.

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