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In relation to a recent question, if somebody were to attack The Bahamas (or one of their ships etc.) can The Bahamas formally invoke any explicit defense treaty with some country with more military muscle, like the US or the UK? Or does The Bahamas have none of those and they'd have to rely on the UNSC, or the famous Monroe doctrine, etc.?

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Q: Does The Bahamas have any formal defense treaties?

With the US, et al., as part of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance —

The central principle contained in its articles is that an attack against one is to be considered an attack against them all; this was known as the "hemispheric defense" doctrine. ... The Bahamas was the most recent country to sign and ratify it in 1982.

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  • Does CARICOM have a mutual defense clause? The wiki intro says it's mainly an economic treaty. The word 'defence/defense' doesn't appear on that page. And what is that Task Force? caricom.org/category/regional-task-force-on-crime-and-security seems to suggest it's just a conference?
    – 264 champagne bottles on ice
    Commented Dec 4, 2023 at 0:09
  • Ah, the actual name is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regional_Security_System But Bahamas is not yet a member.
    – 264 champagne bottles on ice
    Commented Dec 4, 2023 at 0:13
  • And how does Charles III being king (which I knew) help them with defense? Can he order the UK armed forces to do something? Doesn't that require British parliament approval?
    – 264 champagne bottles on ice
    Commented Dec 4, 2023 at 0:18
  • You're clearly right about the Rio treaty though.
    – 264 champagne bottles on ice
    Commented Dec 4, 2023 at 0:20
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    @Fizz In his role as King of the United Kingdom yes Charles can order UK forces to act, but that would generally only be as advised by the relevant government minister (e.g. Defence Secretary or Prime Minister), and other than in an emergency would also require a debate in parliament. King of the UK and King of the Bahamas are in theory two separate roles, so in his role as King of the Bahamas Charles would presumably take advice from the Bahamas government but not be able to command the UK armed forces.
    – bdsl
    Commented Dec 4, 2023 at 14:10

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