Sarstoon Island is an island at the southernmost point of Belize located near the mouth of the

Sarstoon River The Sarstoon River ( es, link=no, Río Sarstún) is a Central American river that forms part of the international border between Belize and Guatemala. The river's source lies in Guatemala's Alta Verapaz Department. It flows eastward, serving as ...

. The Sarstoon River is located at the south of Sarstoon Island and is the southern part of the

Belize–Guatemala border The Belize–Guatemala border is an almost straight line long, close to the 89th meridian west, which separates the west of Belize's territory from Guatemala's. Border description and history The border between Belize and Guatemala is defined ...

. Sarstoon Island is part of the Toledo District of

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

, which is one of 6 districts of the country. The island is mostly mangrove swampland and is uninhabited. It covers approximately . Sarstoon Island is in Belize but Guatemala has recently made claims to the island as part of the

Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute The Belizean–Guatemalan territorial dispute is an unresolved territorial dispute between the states of Belize (FKA British Honduras, British Settlement in the Bay of Honduras) and Guatemala, neighbours in Central America. During the late 160 ...

. Guatemalan Armed Forces (GAF) routinely patrol the waters of Sarstoon Island and illegally enter Belizean waters while at the same time prevent civilian Belizeans from freely traversing the area belonging to Belize. There have been various incidents like these in recent years from 2015 to present, especially documented by the Belize Territorial Volunteers and leader Wil Maheia. According to the Wyke-Aycinena Treaty of 1859, "any islands which may be found ithin the Sarstoon Rivershall belong to that Party on whose side of the main navigable channel they are situated." In 1860, commissioners for

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

(now Belize) and Guatemala surveyed the Sarstoon River and found that the river's current predominantly passed to the south of the island, making Sarstoon Island part of the territory of British Honduras. A map was drawn up from the survey results showing the boundary running along the southern channel. Both commissioners signed the map on May 13, 1861, certifying that the boundaries shown on it were correct. Guatemala later terminated the agreement, arguing that the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

had failed to live up to the conditions of the treaty. In 2015, the government of Belize announced its intentions to build a

forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, machine sho ...

for the

Belize Coast Guard The Belize Coast Guard (until 2016, the Belize National Coast Guard Service) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and the maritime and law enforcement service branch of Belize. The new service began operations with seven impounded E ...

on Sarstoon Island. Due to logistical concerns, however, the government decided to build the base on the mainland instead.

References

{{reflist Uninhabited islands of Belize Belize–Guatemala relations

See also

References