Persian Gulf & Gulf of Aden are vital chokepoints whose security was the primary concern when Arabs wholeheartedly joined the US-led “Combined Maritime Forces” (CMF), a 34-nation task force headquartered in Bahrain which incidentally , the home of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet. The target was Iran. But the recent thaw in relations between two giants Iran & KSA rendered this useless. Result: a new naval alliance.
According to latest developments this new alliance which was originally mooted to include Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman as main partners is now being extended to include Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Pakistan and India in order to o boost security in three sectors, viz. Gulf of Aden, Persian Gulf and the Northern Indian ocean alternatively known as Arabic Sea.
Statistics indicate the role of geoeconomics that drive these countries to pool together their resources to safeguard maritime trade. For example, seven counties in the Gulf produce 30% of the world Crude oil. Besides, Gulf of Aden registers 33,000 transits per annum mainly containing oil and gas. Moreover, Persian Gulf exports 18.2 million barrels Per Diem of crude oil along with 3.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas as LNG.
After Chinese brokered peace has broken out between the Arabs and the Persians, both are alarmed by the US proposal to launch a new “drone fleet” across the region’s waterways as part of their latest bid to counter Iran, which is put it in a milder way, inflammatory and provocative to both Iran & KSA.
The UAE, which was the key mover and participant in the CMF, quietly has withdrawn two months ago from it stating the reason for the departure as the finding of "an assessment of effective security cooperation with all partners”. As a weather cock UAE was privy to secret negotiations between China, Iran and KSA and made the timely move to distance away from USA.
The hidden hand was a mystery until a Qatar based news web site Al-Jadid wrote: The consultations of these countries have started with the coordination of China and with the aim of ensuring the safety of navigation in the Persian Gulf. Here is the taunt: China along with Iran and KSA are ostensibly co-ordinating their business strategy, underpinned by the concept that peace and business grow together!
Cheers!
Muthu Ashraff Rajulu
Business Strategist
Mobile: + 94 777 265677
E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com
Blog: Business Strategist
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