This is not an isolated incident. Over the last two decades, the People’s Republic of China has slowly been building up key political and business connections to gain a stranglehold over the affairs of Caribbean states and, in the process, build up its military and intelligence foothold in America’s backyard.

The history of the relationship between the PRC and SVG is a turbulent one. Neither maintains diplomatic relations with the other, a direct result of the SVG’s heroic decision to maintain diplomatic relations only with the Republic of China, or Taiwan—even supporting it recently in the face of PRC aggression. As a result, the PRC’s One China Policy means the two cannot maintain diplomatic relations.