Britain continued to handle the external affairs of all three territories. Relations with neighboring islands were generally good, although Anguilla remained wary of St. Kitts and Nevis.

The three territories belonged to various international and regional associations. The British Virgin Islands belonged to the Commonwealth of Nations and the CDB and was an associate member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS--see Glossary). Anguilla also was a member of the Commonwealth, the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), and the Civil Aviation Authority. Some other islands had objected to Anguilla's joining the ECCB, alleging that the free market in United States dollars that existed on Anguilla was a major contributor to foreign exchange leakage from the region using the Eastern Caribbean dollar, the common currency used by OECS members as well as Anguilla and Monteserrat. Anguilla's attempt in 1984 to join the OECS was rejected. Montserrat belonged to the ECCB, as well as the Commonwealth, the International Conference of Free Trade Unions, the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce, the Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom--see Appendix C), the UN Economic Council for Latin America, and the CDB. It was also a full member of the OECS.

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Source: U.S. Library of Congress