2008 Speeches

March 28, 2008

Dr. Roy L. Austin
United States Ambassador
Closing Ceremony for the
"Maritime Interdiction of Terrorism" Course
Courtyard by Marriot

Brigadier Edmund Dillon, Chief of Defense Staff; Captain Jeewah Ramoutar, Commander T&T Coast Guard; Mr. Fitzroy John, Comptroller of Customs; Mr. Anthony Chandler, Deputy Comptroller of Customs; Ms. Jennifer Boucaud-Blake, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of National Security; Trainees of the T&T Coast Guard; ladies and gentlemen

Good morning!

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to be here to celebrate the conclusion of the Maritime Interdiction of Terrorism course.  This is really your day, those who are graduating, and I have no intent to delay the ceremony -- or lunch! -- by offering extensive remarks.  This is especially the case since the RSO has told me that you can expect quite a spread.

I am attending the course's closing ceremony to underscore the high value the U.S. places on this training and how appreciative we are that you took it.  The three-week course in which you just participated is important to our shared security, and yet another concrete expression of U.S.- Trinbagonian cooperation. It is designed to improve the skill level of maritime boarding officers with respect to maritime interdiction, security zone enforcement and port and harbor security patrolling.

Our sponsorship of this course, and your successful attendance, also reflects our joint understanding that street crime and terrorism must be proactively countered.  This is not a view at which we have just arrived.  In September 2005, for instance, the White House released our National Maritime Strategy.  That document enshrined into policy the United States' intent to continue aiding our allies in building capacity in the area of maritime interdiction.

Because I think it important to highlight that this course is part of a larger cooperative effort, let me quote at length from the National Maritime Strategy:  "Assisting regional partners to maintain the maritime sovereignty of their territorial seas and internal waters...contributes directly to the partners' economic development as well as their ability to combat unlawful or hostile exploitation by a variety of threats...Preventing unlawful or hostile exploitation of the maritime domain requires that nations collectively improve their capability to monitor activity throughout the domain, establish responsive decision-making architectures, enhance maritime interdiction capacity, develop effective policing protocols, and build intergovernmental cooperation. The United States, in cooperation with its allies, will lead an international effort to improve monitoring and enforcement capabilities through enhanced cooperation at the bilateral, regional, and global level."

As this course, and the foregoing, imply, the American Embassy is committed to offering additional training opportunities to the Government of Trinidad & Tobago in this area and others that assist us all in the common struggle against street crime and terrorism.
In closing, let me once more congratulate you on your completion of the Maritime Interdiction of Terrorism Course.  I wish you continued success and God's blessing in working to keep the residents of Trinidad & Tobago safe and secure. 

I thank you for your presence and attention.