DEFENCE ENVIRONMENT IN THE UAE

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is most certainly one of the status quo powers in the Middle East. In a regional context it remains highly suspicious of Iran, an opinion that is reinforced by the fact that Iran occupies the Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island in Gulf,territory that the UAE claims.

- David sawb

THE SECURITY SITUATION IN THE GULF AREA IS EXTREMELY unstable at the present time, on the one hand you have the ‘status quo’ powers principally Saudi Arabia and the majority of Arab states that wish to keep things exactly as they are, while on the other hand you have Iran who wishes to demolish the status quo and build a new regional security architecture with it as the dominant player. To further complicate matters you have Qatar which has its own agenda, sometimes siding with the other Arab states and other times sponsoring forces that seek to replace the leaderships of these other Arab states. Additionally Qatar retains significant trade links and cordial relations with Iran.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is most certainly one of the status quo powers in the Middle East. In a regional context it remains highly suspicious of Iran, an opinion that is reinforced by the fact that Iran occupies the Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island in Gulf, territory that the UAE claims. It has issues with Qatar, especially as regards Doha’s support for groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which was classified as a terrorist grouping by the UAE. The UAE also participates in the Arab boycott of Qatar which commenced in 2017 and is still ongoing.

Usually acting in concert with Saudi Arabia, the UAE has sought to stabilise the security situation in the Gulf. In 2011 UAE police were deployed to assist Bahrain in putting down an anti-government protests. Then in 2015 the UAE joined with the Saudi-led intervention seeking to confront the Iranian-sponsored Houthi rebels in the Yemen (the UAE conducted a partial troop withdrawal from Yemen in July 2017).

STRATEGIC INTERESTS