Guyana’s president told The Associated Press on Wednesday that his country is taking every step necessary to protect itself from Venezuela, which has ordered its state-owned company to explore and exploit oil and minerals in the vast Essequibo region, which Guyana considers its own.
When asked if he had requested military assistance, President Irfaan Ali said his government was contacting regional allies and partners, some of which Guyana has defense agreements with, to protect Essequibo.
This region makes up two-thirds of the country.
“We take this threat very seriously, and we have initiated several precautionary measures to ensure the peace and stability of the region,” Ali said in a brief telephone interview.
He stated that the Guyana Defense Force is also talking to counterparts in other countries but did not specify which.
“If Venezuela continues to act in this reckless and defiant manner, the region will have to respond,” he said. “And that’s what we’re building. We are building a regional response.”
Ali spoke a day after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said he would immediately grant operating licenses for exploration and exploitation in the Essequibo and ordered the establishment of local subsidiaries of Venezuelan public companies, including oil giant PDVSA and mining conglomerate Corporación Venezolana de Guayana.
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, but years of mismanagement and economic sanctions imposed by the US on Maduro’s government have hurt PDVSA and its subsidiaries.
When asked if he had requested military assistance, Ali said his government was reaching out to allies and regional partners, with whom Guyana has a defense treaty, to protect Essequibo. AFP via Getty Images
Maduro also announced the creation of a Comprehensive Defense Operation Zone for the disputed territory.
It will be similar to the special military command that operates in certain areas of Venezuela.
“The announcement by Venezuela is completely against international law,” Ali said.
“And any country that openly defies an important international body should be worrying not only for Guyana but for the whole world.”
He said Venezuela’s actions could disrupt regional stability and peaceful coexistence.
Guyana expects to bring up the issue at Wednesday’s UN Security Council meeting.
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The president said in a statement late Tuesday that his administration had contacted the US, neighboring Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, the UN secretary general and the US Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Ali also accused Venezuela of disobeying the decision issued by the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands last week.
It ordered Venezuela to take no action until a court ruled on the countries’ competing claims, a process expected to take years.
The Venezuelan government condemned Ali’s statement, accusing Guyana of acting irresponsibly and allegedly giving the US Southern Command the green light to enter the Essequibo region.
Venezuela called on Guyana to resume dialogue and put aside “volatile, threatening and risky behavior.”
On Wednesday, the United Nations issued a statement highlighting a recent International Court of Justice ruling that bars parties from any action that “might aggravate or prolong the dispute or make it more difficult to resolve.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres “strongly supports the use of exclusively peaceful means to resolve international disputes,” the world body said.
The Venezuelan government rejected the UN’s comments, saying it does not recognize the mandatory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
The diplomatic row over the Essequibo region has been simmering for years but intensified in 2015 after ExxonMobil announced it had discovered a large amount of oil off its coast.
Venezuela insists the territory is its own because Essequibo was within its borders during the Spanish colonial period.
Venezuela rejected the border drawn by an international arbitrator in 1899, when Guyana was still under British rule.
The dispute came to a head after Maduro held a referendum on Sunday in which Venezuelans approved his claim of sovereignty over the Essequibo.
Ali called the referendum a “failure” and said Guyana was preparing for any eventuality.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
