By Tom Clifford in Beijing A major geopolitical change is taking place in America’s backyard as one of Washington’s key foreign policy tenets is being openly, almost brazenly, challenged. The irony screams. Washington is threatening China, well sort of, kind of, over Taiwan. We might, we will, we’ll consider, we’ll help the island defend its self sums up the mixed messaging from US politicians. But right under Washington’s nose China is dipping its toe into the Caribbean to test the waters. This is not, it must be stressed, for purely commercial reasons or unrelated to Taiwan. The largest cluster of…
Author: The Publisher
~ When the Silence of Support Becomes the Noise of Irresponsibility ~ We at StMaartenNews.com have always operated on a simple but unwavering principle: to serve the people of St. Maarten with credible, ethical, and professional journalism. Our commitment to accuracy, fairness, and responsible reporting is not just a slogan—it is our daily standard. So imagine our position when we recently received a formal legal notice—a cease and desist letter—concerning online content that we did not publish, do not host, and have absolutely no control over. This outrageous incident is not only absurd in its implication, but also deeply troubling…
PHILIPSBURG — More than seven years ago, in June 2018, the seventh annual Governor’s Symposium dealt with an interesting, if not outright alarming, topic: the effect of climate change on St. Maarten. Nobody lost a night’s sleep about it because, after all, the sun kept shining and the cruise industry brought hordes of tourists to our island. Politicians turned a blind eye to the dangers that are staring us right in the face, albeit further down the road. And yet, during this symposium we heard stuff like “the time to act is now” and (from then Governor Drs. Eugene Holiday):…
~ Behind Closed Doors in Beidaihe: Plotting China’s Future Amid Factional Currents ~ By Tom Clifford in Beijing Azure waters lapping golden beaches, top-class accommodation, great food but the coastal town of Beidaihe, north of Beijing, where the party leadership retreats to escape the capital’s heat every August, is no holiday destination for them. This is where the future of China is plotted, discussed and formulated. It is no place to let your guard down or not be entirely in control of your brief. Sharks, adding a hint of menace, are known to swim nearby. Despite its importance, the annual…
PHILIPSBURG -– On May 31, Ronald Dongor passed away at the age of 72 in his residence in Amersfoort in The Netherlands. His death did not attract any attention, until the Dutch quality newspaper Trouw recently published a tribute to the man who wanted to become a priest but ended up instead as a colonel in the Royal Dutch Marechaussee, the military police. After his retirement, at the age of 55, Dongor spent two years in St. Maarten – between 2008 and 2010 – as a coach for the local police force. The chief of police at the time, Franklyn…
PHILIPSBURG — Sailing under a false flag is becoming a bad habit, these days designed to help Russian and Iranian oil tankers and gas carriers to circumvent sanctions. False flags are nothing new: the term first surfaced in the 16th century. A that time it simply indicated misrepresentation of someone’s allegiance. False flags were used in warfare as well, but now the practice has shifted to merchant vessels like oil tankers. The flag of St. Maarten is alarmingly frequently abused for this purpose, as an investigation by the Dutch investigative platform Follow the Money (and others) revealed recently. Shipping companies…
PHILIPSBURG — As the Ministry of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT) addresses serious flaws in the issuance of bus and taxi licenses—highlighted by the recent Integrity Chamber and SOAB reports—experts at Anykey Services NV, a payment processing provider, are proposing a digital overhaul involving blockchain technology. While Minister Heyliger‑Marten has outlined initial reforms—such as enhanced internal controls, digital tracking, and potential establishment of a Transportation Authority—many say these measures don’t go far enough. Instead, they argue, a full-fledged blockchain‑based payment and licensing platform is necessary to restore transparency, trust, and efficiency. A Platform That Does More Than Collect…
PHILIPSBURG — In an eye-opening post that has gone viral among local professionals and privacy advocates, St. Maarten’s own financial expert Emilio Kalmera has raised serious concerns about an overlooked digital security threat: recycled phone numbers. In a powerful and deeply personal article titled “Recycled Phone Numbers: The Silent Security Crisis Nobody’s Talking About,” published on his Facebook page, Kalmera describes how he nearly sent sensitive legal documents to a total stranger — simply because his friend’s former phone number had been reassigned by a telecom provider without any form of notice. “They regulate everything under the sun in the…
PHILIPSBURG — Did the Italian mafia gain a foothold in St. Maarten? For the answer to that question, we have to go back more than fifty years and to a study performed by Toine Spapens, a professor of criminology at Tilburg university. Writing about mafia infiltration in the (former) Netherlands Antilles and especially in Sint Maarten, Papens concluded: “it started in the early seventies when the Sicilian businessman Rosario Spadaro bought a hotel and developed it into a casino.” The study states that there was a link between Spadaro and the Italian-American Cellini family. The Cellinis took part in the…
PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – In a significant boost for regional air travel, Z Air’s inaugural Embraer 140 jet flight from Curaçao touched down at St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) on Monday morning, July 14, 2025, greeted by a celebratory water cannon salute. The arriving aircraft marked the start of the airline’s new thrice-weekly service connecting St. Maarten and Curaçao every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday – a route now served by jet aircraft promising faster journey times and enhanced connectivity between the two islands. Festive Welcome at Princess Juliana Airport The Embraer 140 jet landed around 11:00 a.m. and…
