Introduction

The Gulf, a region of immense international significance primarily due to its oil and gas reserves, has been threatened by political instability and violence in recent years. This narrow body of water located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula is about 56 kilometres wide at its narrowest, in the Strait of Hormuz, which is one of the world’s most strategically important chokepoints accounting for 20 per cent of the world’s oil traded. The Gulf ’s importance will rise with the global demand for energy, which grew by 95 per cent in the last three decades and is projected to rise by 33 percent during the next 15 years and by about 45 percent in the next 20 years. By current trends, much of this growth will be accounted for by huge increases in energy demand from China, India and the East Asian region.

Hence, it is essential for the global economy that the Strait of Hormuz remain open to ensure uninterrupted transportation of oil and gas. Even a temporary blockage of the Strait can substantially push up energy costs globally. Conversely, the Arabian side of the Gulf is deficient in several other essentials of life and needs to import its food and other commodities, the demand for which is rising with the growing economies and the pressure of sustaining the consequent increase in the expatriate workforce.

Their strategic importance, the need to promote coordination among them and protect their interests enticed the six littoral states of the Gulf, namely Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to group into a political and economic union – Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – in May 1981.

Due to its vast energy resources the area has been home to recurrent episodes of instability ranging from inter-state rivalries to acute security problems. The disputes in the Gulf area range from a general sense of territorial rivalry, as well as suspicion based on cultural differences, between Iran on one side and the Arab countries on the other, to the obscure quarrels of the tiny “Trucial Sheikhdoms”.

In addition to maintaining internal stability, it is also vital, and in the region’s interest, to secure it against external aggressors, particularly ensuring that the region does not become a playground for big power rivalries.