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Military presence in the Caribbean

The Netherlands armed forces maintain a permanent military presence in the Caribbean for the performance of military tasks and a number of policing tasks.

Enlarge image Military personnel use underwater equipment to monitor the quality of the seawater in the Caribbean.

Tasks in the Caribbean

The national tasks in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom mainly comprise:

  • coastguard support;
  • combating the regional drugs trade;
  • police tasks, carried out by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee;
  • border control;
  • riot control.

Military personnel and materiel

The military presence of the Netherlands armed forces in the Caribbean consists of:

  • Royal Netherlands Marine Corps squadron on Aruba;
  • a rotating detachment from the Royal Netherlands Marine Corps on Sint Maarten;
  • a rotating company from the Royal Netherlands Army on Curaçao;
  • the Aruban Militia;
  • the Curaçao Militia;
  • a Fast Raiding Interception and Special Forces Craft (FRISC) troop on Aruba;
  • the guard ship in the Caribbean;
  • the strategic transport ship HNLMS Pelikaan;
  • a Royal Netherlands Marechaussee brigade.

If required, the Netherlands armed forces can expand their military presence in the Caribbean.