A PERMANENT base for the British Royal Navy in Bahrain is a signal of the UK’s commitment to security in the Gulf and the wider region, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Philip Hammond told a high-level conference in Bahrain yesterday.

He was speaking at the 10th Manama Dialogue organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa.

“Your security concerns are our security concerns,” Mr Hammond told the UK’s Gulf partners at the event.

His comments follow the signing of an MoU by the UK and Bahrain to establish a permanent Royal Navy presence on Friday.

“The 175,000 British citizens living in this region help to sustain the UK’s strong historical links with the Gulf,” said Mr Hammond.

“The Royal Air Force has had a base in Manama for more than 80 years and our navy was sailing these seas for several hundred years before that.

“Since the 1980s the Royal Navy has carried out continuous patrols in the Gulf and enjoyed the facilities of Mina Salman port from which it continues to do so.

“The expansion of our footprint that this arrangement will now allow means we will have the capability to send more and bigger ships, and to sustain them and their crews in permanent facilities.”

He added that the deal was a clear statement of the UK’s commitment to a sustained presence “east of Suez”.

“It is a reminder of our historical and close relationship with Bahrain and one example of our growing partnership with Gulf allies to tackle the threats we face together,” he said.

In response to a question, Mr Hammond explained the permanent location would serve as a base for UK vessels and personnel for longer periods of time and on a more regular basis.

“The new base will be a permanent location which will accommodate ships including Type 45 destroyers,” he said.

In a separate speech titled Strategic Priorities in the Middle East, Mr Hammond called for “sustainable, legitimate and inclusive governments” in Iraq and Syria that would be capable of providing security to the populace.

“Assad’s track record shows he cannot be a partner, so we must look to moderates in all of Syria’s communities to build the basis for more inclusive governance in the future,” he said.

“Secondly, we must build a culture of challenging and marginalising extremism.

“This means supporting and empowering the voices of reason and moderation in all our countries.

“And thirdly, we must constantly enhance practical counter-terrorism measures.

“It falls to us all, of course, to ensure that well-intentioned legislation in our respective countries is rigorously implemented in practice.

“And we should co-operate effectively to do so.”
raji@gdn.com.bh