St Vincent PM says Caribbean unity is needed now more than ever

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ROSEAU, Dominica (CMC) – St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves is calling for greater unity among member states of the Caribbean, noting that a united region is needed to deal with the mounting global challenges.

Delivering the annual Dame Eugenia Charles Memorial Lecture here on Monday night, Gonsalves, one of the region’s longest serving head of government, spoke on the topic “Our Caribbean Civilization and its Political Prospects”.

“The necessity and desirability for an independent Caribbean united is more urgent than ever,” he told the audience, saying “I know there are problems in getting there, but we have to cooperate and do things more together.

“As Prime Minister, you have so many domestic challenges, but you really can’t deal with the serious ones unless you work together across the Caribbean.”

He said issues such as climate change, climate financing, the issue of war and peace and the ongoing war in Ukraine are matters where the region needs a united position.

Gonsalves said on Monday he has sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Joe Biden, the Ukrainian leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres “making a plea for peace” and that he intends to send the letter to every head of state in the world.

Gonsalves said with the threat of nuclear weapons being used, it is important “for all of us to be in solidarity on certain questions even when we disagree with each other politically.

“There are some things which we must at least, for the good of the nation, and for our civilization regionally, work together,” he added.

During the lecture, Gonsalves defended his government’s decision to have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province even though most of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries enjoy diplomatic status with Beijing rather than Taipei.

Asked by a member of the audience whether he believes China’s influence in the Caribbean is akin to it recolonising the region, Gonsalves replied that within the seven-member Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), the governments of St Lucia, St Kitts-Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines envy diplomatic stats with Taiwan.

“The other country in the region that has diplomatic relations with Taiwan is Haiti. The mainland Chinese from time to time they send their emissaries directly and indirectly for me to change the relations.

‘We are not going to do so. Let me make it plain. I have nothing, I don’t say anything against mainland China. Our position is simple, there is one Chinese civilization of which you can have more than one legitimate political organisers of state.”

He said Taiwan is part of mainland China for centuries and in 1949 the defeated Chinese nationalists fled to the island.

“They claimed that they represented the whole of China, more and more that became threadbare because you can’t have a small island representing the whole of China,” Gonsalves said, adding that “for all practical purposes two entities emerged.

“You cannot tell me that in order for me to have diplomatic relations with you, I have to break diplomatic relations with Taiwan. You can’t dictate to me. We have a relationship (and) anytime you say that I can have relations with you while having with Taiwan, tomorrow morning I am ready to have relations with you.

“But we view that in our interest to maintain these relations,” Gonsalves said, highlighting the efforts his administration has been making over the years to get Taiwan accepted in the major global forums.

“What I want to see across the Taiwan Straits there be peace because if you think Ukraine is bad, if war breaks out across the Taiwan Straits and I say it all the time some time, I don’t know if it is going to 200, 300 years from now, 50 years from now, 30 years from now, Taiwan and mainland China will work out their problems without anything to do with me,” Gonsalves said.

“They have a different view of time than we have,” he said, telling the audience “do not expect me to pick a fight with a country with 1.4 billion people”.

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