Pakistan Navy brings stability to the Arabian Sea
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It is axiomatic that international trade and global economic development are inextricably linked. It is also self- evident that energy resources are the lifeline of modern economies. Even conventional sectors like agriculture are today energy dependent from tilling to irrigation and fertilizers. The Arabian Gulf region has 800 billion barrels of proven oil and 2,800 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.
Therefore, security and stability of this region is an essential prerequisite to keep the wheels of the international economy moving. Bulk of the international oil trade is sea borne. Hence the importance of maritime security in and around the Gulf region.
The Pakistan Navy has a long-established tradition of cooperation with the navies of GCC countries. Extension of training facilities, friendly port calls and joint exercises on the high seas are some of the facets of naval collaboration. At the multilateral level, Pakistan has been an active member of the Bahrain-based Combined Task Force, CTF-150 and CTF-151, for many years. Pakistan naval officers have commanded CTF-150 eleven times, which is a record so far. CTF-151, which is the anti-piracy international force, is currently being commanded by the Pakistan Navy for the ninth time.
Maritime security has gained in importance as threats to commercial sea lanes have grown in number and complexity. Piracy, drug trafficking and human smuggling are just a few examples of the criminal activities conducted on the seas. The Arabian Sea represents some of the busiest commercial sea lanes in the world. It is largely due to the efforts of CTF-150 that Horn of Africa based pirates were obliged to limit their notorious activities. There is clearly a nexus between such criminal activities and international terror financing. CTF-151 is tasked to curb those nefarious activities. Thus, Pakistan Navy has over the years, been able to contribute its share towards peace and stability of the Arabian Sea and its littoral states.
Of all GCC nations, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Sultanate of Oman have longer coastlines. Pakistan Navy has enjoyed a long and fruitful cooperation with their navies. Three senior retired naval officers, including two former navy chiefs of Pakistan, have served as ambassadors in Riyadh, in recent years
The incumbent envoy of Saudi Arabia in Islamabad, Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Maliki, is also a senior retired officer of the Royal Navy of Saudi Arabia. Earlier on, he had served as Defense Attache in Pakistan. This clearly indicates that naval cooperation gets due traction on both sides.
Pakistan and the GCC member countries have a shared vested interest in ensuring high level and fool proof security in and around the Arabian Sea.
Javed Hafeez
The geo-strategic location of Gwadar, Pasni and Ormara ports on Makran coast, close to the Hormuz Strait, makes Pakistan Navy a natural partner for cooperation with the Gulf nations. Admiral Mohammad Amjad Khan Niazi, Pakistan Navy Chief, recently visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Apart from calling on the Chief of General Staff, he held fruitful talks with Admiral Fahad Bin Abdullah Al Ghuffaili, his counterpart. His predecessor, Admiral Abbasi, visited the Kingdom in 2019 to attend the Saudi International Maritime Forum in Riyadh.
Joint naval exercises are necessary for co-ordination and to test new weapon systems. Pakistan Navy and Royal Saudi Navy have frequently participated in such exercises both at the bilateral and multilateral levels. The well known Gulf Shield-1 exercise in the Eastern Region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2018 saw two dozen contingents from various nations exercise together.
However, Pakistan had the distinction of sending army, air force and naval units for this international event. This was followed by a bilateral naval exercise named Naseem al Bahar in 2019.
Pakistan and the GCC member countries have a shared vested interest in ensuring high level and fool proof security in and around the Arabian Sea. Age old commercial ties, a common Islamic culture, a shared resolve to fight terrorism in all its manifestations and geographical proximity in a sensitive region, add to the mutual trust and desire to work together for regional peace and stability.
Mutual cooperation benefits the international economy, creates jobs around the globe and brings affluence to the oil exporting and importing nations. It is a win-win situation for both, which must be fostered. Fully cognizant of international duties and due to its known commitment to the UN resolutions on global peace and security, Pakistan has, all along, readily taken peace initiatives beneficial to the region.
As I peep into the near future, greater cooperation between Pakistan and energy rich regional states is palpable. As China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) becomes functional, Pakistan will provide overland connectivity to the regional oil exporting states with southwest China, which is growing at a fast pace. The energy needs of the Chinese Xinjiang province are going to increase exponentially. The north-south roads and energy pipelines from Gwadar to Xinjiang will become the shortest route for the GCC nations to export energy resources to their biggest consumer.
Pakistan’s own economic interests would then be interwoven with the stability of the Arabian Sea.
– Javed Hafeez is a former Pakistani diplomat with much experience of the Middle East. He writes weekly columns in Pakistani and Gulf newspapers and appears regularly on satellite TV channels as a defense and political analyst.
Twitter: @hafiz_javed
