Bitwa morska AD 2010
: 2010-03-27, 21:46
Naval battle between UAE and Saudi Arabia raises fears for Gulf security
A naval clash in the Gulf has reignited fears over the security of the
world's most important shipping lanes and disputed oilfields.
By Richard Spencer in Dubai
Published: 6:00AM GMT 26 Mar 2010
The United Arab Emirates navy is thought to have opened fire on a small
patrol vessel from Saudi Arabia after a dispute over water boundaries.
According to one report, two Saudi sailors were injured in the alleged
bombardment.
The Saudi vessel was forced to surrender, and its sailors were delivered
into custody in Abu Dhabi for several days, before being released and handed
over to the Saudi embassy earlier this week.
The incident has shocked diplomats who hope the countries, both key American
allies, will help implement the West's strategy to constrain Iran's nuclear
and military ambitions.
The clash happened in disputed waters between the coasts of Saudi Arabia,
Abu Dhabi and the peninsula on which the gas-rich state of Qatar sits.
The seabed is rich with oil deposits, while the Dolphin pipeline project to
carry natural gas direct from Qatar to Abu Dhabi has provoked irritation in
the Saudi authorities. Nevertheless, direct conflict between the two
countries' armed forces is highly unusual.
The Gulf is one of the most heavily armed regions in the world. The Saudi
government has been building up its army and air force for years in response
to what it sees as a regional threat from Iran.
The UAE was slower to join the arms race, despite a long-running row with
Iran over three Gulf islands previously under Abu Dhabi control which were
seized by the late Shah in 1971 on the night the Emirates celebrated their
independence.
But now the UAE, despite its small size, is the fourth largest purchaser of
weaponry on the international market in the world.
Western governments are exasperated that the two countries are unable to
co-operate because of a series of long-running border disputes, largely
influenced by oil reserves.
Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer, while Abu Dhabi, though
ranking only number four in OPEC, is by some counts the richest city per
head of population in the world.
"It looks as though attempts were made to keep this quiet, which is
predictable given the important relationship between the two countries and
the strategic relationship with Iran," a Gulf-based diplomat said. "But it
does remind us of the simmering rows that there are in this part of the
Gulf."
The Gulf is the shipping route for 40 per cent of the world's oil trade. The
lack of agreed naval boundaries leads to repeated arrests of civilian
vessels, including a British yacht by the Iranian navy last November, but
more serious is the threat of Iranian retaliation for any attack by Israel
or American forces on its nuclear installations.
The Iranian government has threatened to mine the Straits of Hormuz at the
tip of the Gulf, or target the western navies moored in Gulf Arab ports.
"This is getting serious," a local defence analyst said. "The Dolphin
pipeline is a critical interstate energy project to bring gas from Qatar to
the UAE, so a fight (with Saudi Arabia) is affecting the relations between
these three countries at a time when they should be co-operating."
A spokesman for the UAE ministry of defence said he was unable to give
details of the incident.
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010
A naval clash in the Gulf has reignited fears over the security of the
world's most important shipping lanes and disputed oilfields.
By Richard Spencer in Dubai
Published: 6:00AM GMT 26 Mar 2010
The United Arab Emirates navy is thought to have opened fire on a small
patrol vessel from Saudi Arabia after a dispute over water boundaries.
According to one report, two Saudi sailors were injured in the alleged
bombardment.
The Saudi vessel was forced to surrender, and its sailors were delivered
into custody in Abu Dhabi for several days, before being released and handed
over to the Saudi embassy earlier this week.
The incident has shocked diplomats who hope the countries, both key American
allies, will help implement the West's strategy to constrain Iran's nuclear
and military ambitions.
The clash happened in disputed waters between the coasts of Saudi Arabia,
Abu Dhabi and the peninsula on which the gas-rich state of Qatar sits.
The seabed is rich with oil deposits, while the Dolphin pipeline project to
carry natural gas direct from Qatar to Abu Dhabi has provoked irritation in
the Saudi authorities. Nevertheless, direct conflict between the two
countries' armed forces is highly unusual.
The Gulf is one of the most heavily armed regions in the world. The Saudi
government has been building up its army and air force for years in response
to what it sees as a regional threat from Iran.
The UAE was slower to join the arms race, despite a long-running row with
Iran over three Gulf islands previously under Abu Dhabi control which were
seized by the late Shah in 1971 on the night the Emirates celebrated their
independence.
But now the UAE, despite its small size, is the fourth largest purchaser of
weaponry on the international market in the world.
Western governments are exasperated that the two countries are unable to
co-operate because of a series of long-running border disputes, largely
influenced by oil reserves.
Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil producer, while Abu Dhabi, though
ranking only number four in OPEC, is by some counts the richest city per
head of population in the world.
"It looks as though attempts were made to keep this quiet, which is
predictable given the important relationship between the two countries and
the strategic relationship with Iran," a Gulf-based diplomat said. "But it
does remind us of the simmering rows that there are in this part of the
Gulf."
The Gulf is the shipping route for 40 per cent of the world's oil trade. The
lack of agreed naval boundaries leads to repeated arrests of civilian
vessels, including a British yacht by the Iranian navy last November, but
more serious is the threat of Iranian retaliation for any attack by Israel
or American forces on its nuclear installations.
The Iranian government has threatened to mine the Straits of Hormuz at the
tip of the Gulf, or target the western navies moored in Gulf Arab ports.
"This is getting serious," a local defence analyst said. "The Dolphin
pipeline is a critical interstate energy project to bring gas from Qatar to
the UAE, so a fight (with Saudi Arabia) is affecting the relations between
these three countries at a time when they should be co-operating."
A spokesman for the UAE ministry of defence said he was unable to give
details of the incident.
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010