In today’s complex and dynamic threat environment, military leaders must effectively employ limited resources to execute their country’s national security strategy. Proceedings asked sea-service commanders around the world: It is often said that a nation’s national defense decisions are ultimately derived from its own sovereign interests. Given this presumption, what are the global trends that most influence your national security decision making and how does your navy use its operating policies, alliances, and partnerships to address these trends?
Lieutenant Colonel M. Acton
The global trends that most influence our national-security decisions are the events happening worldwide, but which also are occurring in our country: piracy, drug trafficking at sea, and illegal fishing. These occur everyday on our seas. In response to these threats, our government has already taken action by preparing the implementation of the Suriname Coast Guard to help the Suriname Navy in its duties to cover more ground to control these threats. The Suriname Coast Guard will have specific duties and jurisdiction to be better prepared for pollution, search and rescue, and border control. The Suriname Navy performs its duties according to the constitution, is upgrading its personnel and equipment, and is steadily increasing its regular patrols at sea.
The navy uses its operating policies, which are stated in the constitution, to work together with different government institutions, for example the ministry of fisheries, the maritime police, the Maritime Authority Suriname, and Hi-Jet, to better control different areas of the sea. The navy also uses its allies, like the French Guyana authority, for emergencies within a certain range of the border of Suriname. The Suriname Navy also has a partnership with the Caribbean countries (Trade Winds) and has an annual exercise to continuously upgrade its personnel to be better prepared to fight any threat at sea. We as a nation must work together with neighboring countries to pool and share experience, techniques, and capabilities. Our nation will have to invest in technology purchases for the navy, for example radar satellite systems, and to adhere to the rule that all sea-going vessels come equipped with an automatic identification system.