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UK construction of naval base in Bahrain
DB News: 02/11/2015 - 11:29
The agreement marks a strategic shift for Britain, having formally withdrawn from its major Gulf military bases in 1971.
Hammond has said that the deal ensures a permanent footing for the Royal Navy in the oil-rich Gulf. The Gulf’s single exit, the Strait of Hormuz, is bounded by Iran and Oman and is the route for 30 per cent of world supplies carried by tanker ships.
The negotiation will consolidate Britain’s first fixed Gulf since it pulled out of former imperial outposts over four decades ago.
Currently, four British mine-hunter warships are already based in Bahrain and other British ships rely on facilities in the Kingdom. The base is expected to open in 2016.
