Coast Guard commanders from across the Regional Security System are calling for closer coordination, faster intelligence sharing and improved maritime surveillance to counter growing security threats in Caribbean waters.
The call came during a two-day meeting of RSS Coast Guard Commanders, where senior officers from member states reviewed the challenges facing regional maritime security and agreed that no single island can patrol its waters alone.
Dominica, as an RSS member state, stands to benefit directly from any strengthening of regional cooperation. The island's coastline and its position in the Eastern Caribbean make it part of the same maritime space that the commanders say is under increasing pressure from illicit activity.
The commanders pointed to the need for faster exchange of intelligence between national coast guards and navies, arguing that delays in sharing information allow suspect vessels to move between jurisdictions before a response can be mounted.
Improved maritime surveillance was also identified as a priority, with commanders discussing how assets, patrol schedules and monitoring systems can be used more effectively across the region rather than by individual states acting alone.
The RSS brings together independent states in the Eastern Caribbean, and its Coast Guard Commanders meeting is one of the forums where operational leaders coordinate on shared threats. The two-day session allowed commanders to compare notes on the pressures each force faces and to look for ways to align their responses.
For Dominica, the practical effect of closer coordination would be felt in the day-to-day work of patrolling and monitoring the waters around the island. Regional cooperation is seen as a way to extend the reach of smaller forces that cannot maintain a constant presence across their entire maritime domain.
The commanders' call reflects a wider recognition that criminal activity at sea does not respect national boundaries. Vessels involved in trafficking, smuggling or other offences can pass through several countries' waters in a single voyage, making bilateral and regional arrangements essential.
Intelligence sharing is central to that effort. The commanders want information to move between agencies quickly enough to allow a timely operational response, whether that means intercepting a suspect vessel or alerting a neighbouring state.
Maritime surveillance, meanwhile, covers the technology and the patrols used to build a picture of what is happening offshore. Sharing that picture across the RSS would give each member state a clearer view of activity beyond its own immediate waters.
The meeting did not produce a public list of new commitments, but the direction set by the commanders is clear: more coordination, faster information flow and better use of surveillance resources across the region.
For Dominica and its RSS partners, the discussion underlines that maritime security is a shared responsibility. The commanders' message is that the threats are regional in nature and that the response must be regional as well.
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