King Willem-Alexander has said he is “greatly concerned” about the mounting tensions between the United States and Venezuela and the potential impact on the Dutch Caribbean, news website Nu.nl reported on Thursday.

The king made the remarks to reporters during the state visit to Suriname, which ended on Wednesday, Nu.nl said.

Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire lie just tens of kilometres off the Venezuelan coast, and the king said he hopes the situation will ease soon for the residents of the three islands. “We are very worried about what is happening there,” he said on the final day of the royal couple’s three-day visit.

Willem-Alexander said he hopes international law will continue to be upheld and that “proper attention” will be paid to how countries can protect one another from developments that could affect the islands.

He added that he intends to remain in contact with the US to stay informed about the situation.

Tensions between the US and Venezuela have risen sharply in recent weeks after US president Donald Trump accused Venezuela of deliberately transporting drugs to the United States. Trump also accused Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro of involvement, though he presented no evidence.

The US has since increased its military presence in the Caribbean to put pressure on Maduro, with Trump hinting several times at the possibility of a ground operation. American forces have also fired on more than 20 suspected drugs boats off the Venezuelan coast, killing at least 83 people.

Last weekend Trump said Venezuelan air space should be considered as closed, although he has no authority to do so.

KLM said at the time the message has no impact on the airline’s flights. “We do not fly to Venezuela and do not go near its airspace,” the spokesperson said.

TUI said it is monitoring the situation closely, because Venezuela is close to Curaçao, where the airline operates holiday flights. Corendon flies to Curaçao and Bonaire and said at the weekend it has not flown through Venezuelan airspace since last week.