A British battleship is presently docked just a few miles off the coast of Belize City. To some, it may seem too cute a coincidence that a British Navy vessel is in Belizean waters just as oil is discovered in the country and as negotiations with Guatemala are reopening. We boarded the Cumberland and found that if there's any state secrets or cloaked maneuvers of high statecraft, they disguised it well, in of all things a children's party...Alfonso Noble reports.
Alfonso Noble Reporting,
16 primary level and high school students- scholarship recipients of the Hand-in-Hand Ministries were today hosted on board the British War Ship Cumberland. They were given a guided tour including picture taking sessions on the ship's gun and were also hosted to an on board party complete with party hats and opportunities to wear British marine caps. Ene Onyike Lt. Commander says the HMS Cumberland is docked off the coast of Belize as part of its tour in the Caribbean region.
Lt. Commander Ene Onyike,
"This ship is equipped for any form of warfare basically. If we got other ships that are attacking us we can deal with that. We are also a command platform so also we got communication to liaise with any part of the world. The ship is here for two roles really, one is to provide humanitarian aid if we are asked to provide it, and then the second reason is basically to assist with the war on international drug trafficking. Last year HMS Richman was out here in the Caribbean and she went out to Grenada and also to Grand Cayman to assist in humanitarian relief operations there. In the past two years the Royal Navy Ship that have been in the region have also helped significantly in the war against drug trafficking. In fact in the past two years they have seized drugs worth 154 million pounds. We aim to have a ship in the region at least once a year so we either have a ship that's going through another region or we have a ship like this one which is dedicated to this region."
But with recent developments in the country, with the discovery of oil, the re-opening of negotiations with Guatemala there are those skeptical about the motive for this British gun ship to be docked just a few miles off Belize City.
Alfonso Noble,
We in Belize fear that you are here to provide security for Belizeans, or a sense of security for Belizeans because of the Guatemalan threat and because there is now oil in Belize and the British maybe now have a vested interested in our country once again.
Lt. Commander Ene Onyike,
"No there is no hidden agenda here. We're going around to a number of countries. We've just come from the Grand Cayman and once we leave Belize, we'll be going out to the Eastern Caribbean. So there's no hidden agenda here. We are here solely on behalf of her majesty's government to provide humanitarian relief if requested and also, as I said, the war on drugs."
HMS is scheduled to depart Belizean waters tomorrow morning at 9 am enroute to the Western Caribbean Islands and, just for good measure, if it encounters any Spanish battleships on the way, it's going to blow them to bits.
