Kuwaiti Official: Gulf States Plan Joint Naval Force
Oct. 15, 2014 - 01:10PM | By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
KUWAIT CITY — Arab states in the Gulf plan to launch a joint naval force, a top Kuwaiti defense official said on Wednesday, in a bid to protect waters shared with neighboring Iran.
The new force is expected to be formed in the "coming months," Major General Ahmad Yussef al-Mulla was quoted as saying by the official KUNA news agency.
The Gulf Cooperation Council states — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — formed the Peninsula Shield force in 1982 as a 5,000-strong army.
Mulla said military officials from the six nations are still working out details for the naval force, which will be organized in a similar way to the joint ground forces.
The size of the force will depend on the "level of external threats for Gulf marine security," he said.
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