Gulf Arab states preparing to build up militaries amid U.S. drawdown

Gulf Arab states preparing to build up militaries amid U.S. drawdown 

GeoStrategy direct w/e 16-Apr-14 

The Gulf Cooperation Council has been preparing for a reduction in the U.S. military's presence as part of its rapproachment with Iran. 

A leading Western analyst asserted that the six GCC states were enhancing their navies and coast guards amid the decline in the U.S. presence in the Gulf. Over the last year, the U.S. Navy has withdrawn an aircraft carrier group and kept another group out of the region for much of 2013. 

"All GCC navies have benefited both directly and indirectly by the increasing presence of U.S. military forces in the region during the past years, but they have correctly considered the implications of a dramatic drawdown of these forces under the Obama administration in the aftermath of the U.S. disengagement from Iraq and Afghanistan," [Ret.] Italian Navy Cmdre. Michele Cosentino said. 

In a study for the 2013 Offshore Patrol Vessels conference in the United Arab Emirates, Cosentino said the United Arab Emirates, which concluded its Al Baynounah corvette program, has taken the lead in bolstering maritime security forces. He said the GCC's biggest challenge was Iran, with the largest navy in the region. 

"The first [challenge] is located in the Arabian Gulf and stems from Iran's attitude toward a regional hegemony, while the second is linked to the disruption of maritime trade caused by piracy and other illicit trafficking taking place around the Horn of Africa and off Yemeni and Omani coasts," the study said. 

The study said the GCC has not responded uniformly to the Iranian threat. Cosentino said Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were acquiring such assets as corvettes, frigates and ocean patrol vessels, while the smaller members — Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar — were making do with coastal patrol boats. 

"GCC navies have therefore chosen different paths to face such challenges and threats in accordance with their ability to manage a range of naval assets," the study said.