PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC – President Chandrikapersad Santokhi said Suriname would sign the Aerial Intercept Assistance Agreement (AIAA) with the United States, indicating that “no illegal aircraft will be allowed to enter the country.”
The government said that Daniel Erikson, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere, visited the country at the start of this year, promising the AIAA signing and that both parties are still negotiating.
“We need the necessary equipment, and the legal basis will soon be formalized. We are going to conclude an agreement with the US whereby intervention and interception of (illegal) aircraft will be possible,” Santokhi told a meeting with the leadership of the National Army.
Santokhi, the supreme commander of the Armed Forces, reminded the army of its crucial role in protecting the territory, maritime zones, and airspace, adding, “We will do everything to ensure that our sovereignty is protected.”
He said that every plane that enters Surinamese territory illegally will be violating the sovereignty of the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
“It is a primary task of the national army and not a secondary task to protect our sovereignty. And you must take responsibility for that, together with the police, to ensure that those violations are also effectively addressed.”
Santokhi said that the army has a supporting role to the police regarding national security, adding that the challenges in the interior are in mining, the environment, and crime.
Santokhi said that there should be no hesitation in using foreign assistance in the form of cooperation, adding that regional and international cooperation should be established in the case of cross-border issues and threats.
“That infringement occurs regionally and not only towards Suriname, but by organized crime, and we must tackle that together.”
Suriname and the US signed the Cooperative Situational Information Integration System agreement in August 2023.
This concerns an airborne radar and sensor signal network system for the Caribbean region with recent maritime information from ships and vessels.
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