West Indians like to assume, instinctively, that an incident like last week's terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore can't or won't occur in this region. They hold to this idyllic sense of the region, in the tourism brochure kind of way, and a belief that the Caribbean is too far removed from global terrorism to be so affected.

We, too, hope that such a thing never happens, but we are aware that this is not a matter about which Jamaica, or any other Caribbean territory, can be complacent. For the truth is, while we have been spared such extreme terrorist intrusions, the region is vulnerable.

The Lahore incident highlighted one potential target for the global terrorists which could directly impact on the Caribbean, as well as reinforce the need to deepen regional coordination on security, which, to be fair, is part of the project of the Caribbean Community (Caricom). Indeed, a fortnight ago, Caricom's security chiefs, civilian and military, met in Jamaica to advance that agenda.

Sense of danger

Fortunately, no Sri Lankan cricketer or any of the game's officials died in the Lahore attack that claimed the lives of six Pakistani police officers. But the fact that cricket was the target, and specifically the Sri Lankan team, magnifies the sense of danger for the Caribbean and brings under scrutiny the vulnerabilities of these small, resource-short West Indian islands with porous borders.

It is the same Sri Lankan team that is scheduled to arrive in the Caribbean later this month for a series of two Test matches and three one-day internationals. There is no suggestion that the tour has been cancelled or delayed.

As the Lahore attack was under way, the West Indies and England cricket teams were preparing to take the field in Barbados to complete a Test match that is part of a series in the region that has attracted several thousand English fans. The two teams are currently in contest in Trinidad and Tobago, with no sign that the incident in southeast Asia has affected the mood. But it can't be far away from people's consciousness, including the context that perceived Western interests are often the target of Asia-based terror groups.

Security and border arrangements

The Sri Lankan authorities, we expect, will want assurances that their players will be safe in the Caribbean. During the 2007 Cricket World Cup, when faced with similar issues, the region sought to deal with the matter by coordinating security and border arrangements - a system close to shared sovereignty. This needs to be revived in a robust fashion.

We believe, too, that the Regional Security System, the cooperation and personnel-sharing arrangement between the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and Barbados, ought to be expanded to embrace CARICOM's full members in the northern and western Caribbean. It will help to add security muscle in times of crises. The region must also be willing to work with international partners, on a clearly defined basis, to fight the international terrorists and, without ceding independence and sovereignty, to protect the sea borders.

In the specific case of Jamaica, faced with the maritime smuggling of narcotics into its territory and the guns-for-drugs trade that brings weapons into the country, installing a coastal surveillance system, such as the US$25-million Lockheed Martin system, one the former administration ostensibly could not afford, is now a necessity. In the Mumbai incident, recently, the terrorists landed in dinghies.

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