Retired AFM colonel, former PD candidate says United States SOFA would be good for Malta

A former MEP candidate for the Democratic Party has written in favour of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States, citing his experience in EU military experience. 

Martin Cauchi Inglott, a former Armed Forces of Malta colonel, said that while the agreement’s benefits on security and economy would “well outweigh the disadvantages”, no SOFA should be signed at any cost, “especially not if it concerns Moneyval.” 

Malta must pass its Council of Europe Moneyval test on money laundering measures but the United States retains a crucial degree of influence on the global FATF platform where both American and European fora on money laundering meet.

READ • Americans put the heat on ministers with Moneyval test

SOFA is an agreement which regulates the status and privileges of military and civilian personnel engaged on overseas military training and operations in a host country. 

Cauchi Inglott, a graduate of the US Naval War College, said a SOFA does not mean establishing military alliances, nor inviting the US or any other nation to establish bases in Malta and exercise freely in the country. “I must state that I do trust the US military as an institution,” Cauchi Inglott said. 

“A SOFA would not implicitly grant immunity to visiting US military personnel but could provide a waiver of jurisdiction in certain pre-agreed cases and it is questionable whether sailors on shore leave would be covered – this needs to be negotiated. 

“A SOFA would also provide a framework for compensation for any damages which occurred as a result of an incident. This is why it would be important for the government to negotiate in the best interest of our nation.” 

Cauchi Inglott said the SOFA would enable US warships to start re-visiting Malta more frequently, allowing ships to purchase fuel and provisions, facilitate crew changes through incoming flights and allow sailors to enjoy shore-leave, “probably spending dollars in Valletta and Paceville, all good for our economy. To note: in 2004, a record 54 US warships stopped in Malta to replenish but this number has dropped to one to two a year over the last 10 years or so.” 

Cauchi Inglott suggested that in a worst-case scenario, a US serviceman committing a hideous crime in Malta may face a US military court martial instead of Maltese courts, “if there is agreement from the Maltese side to surrender jurisdiction.” 

“Had Malta signed a SOFA with Chile, the Chilean government would have been obliged to hand over Cadet [Hernan] Sepúlveda in 1999, during the Esmeralda incident, for arrest and prosecution, possibly in Malta,” he said of the Chilean government’s refusal to hand over a cadet accused of attempted murder of a Paceville bouncer.

“Though the subject has nothing to do with neutrality, it is a hot potato for local politicians, who very much depend on the popular vote, but perhaps it may be wiser for the government to sign the NATO PfP SOFA to cover both US personnel as well as those of other partner countries. Incidentally, let us not forget that Malta signed and ratified the EU SOFA already…”