Posiadłości karaibskie w polityce obronnej Królestwa Niderlandów

Abstract

Having its territories on six Caribbean islands, the Kingdom of the Netherlands is one of the active external powers in the region. The legal framework assumes that the military protection remains the responsibility of the Kingdom. The Dutch troops stationed on the islands implement the same three major tasks as in the European Netherlands. These are: 1) protecting national territory; 2) supporting the international legal order and stability; and 3) supporting civilian authorities. This article indicates that although the number of Dutch soldiers is limited, it is adequate for the purpose. The important exception would be defence against a hypothetical military action conducted by Venezuela. While this rather is an unlikely scenario, the very destabilisation of the region due to internal problems in that country may eventually require an increase in the Dutch military forces on the islands.