With an eye on Iran, U.S. clinches strategic port deal with Oman
The United States clinched a
strategic port deal with Oman on Sunday which U.S. officials say will allow the
U.S. military better access the Gulf region and reduce the need to send ships
through the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime choke point off Iran.
General view of Duqm Port in
Oman, August 22, 2017. REUTERS/ Nawied Jabarkhyl
The U.S. embassy in Oman said
in a statement that the agreement governed U.S. access to facilities and ports
in Duqm as well as in Salalah and “reaffirms the commitment of both countries
to promoting mutual security goals.”
The accord is viewed through
an economic prism by Oman, which wants to develop Duqm while preserving its
Switzerland-like neutral role in Middle Eastern politics and diplomacy.
But it comes as the United
States grows increasingly concerned about Iran’s expanding missile programs,
which have improved in recent years despite sanctions and diplomatic pressure
by the United States.
A U.S. official, speaking on
condition of anonymity, said the deal was significant by improving access to
ports that connect to a network of roads to the broader region, giving the U.S.
military great resiliency in a crisis.
“We used to operate on the
assumption that we could just steam into the Gulf,” one U.S. official said,
adding, however, that “the quality and quantity of Iranian weapons raises
concerns.”
Tehran has in the past
threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route at the
mouth of the Gulf, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action, including
attempts to halt Iranian oil exports through sanctions.
Still, the U.S. official noted
that the agreement would expand U.S. military options in the region for any
kind of crisis.
Duqm is ideal port for large
ships. It is even big enough to turn around an aircraft carrier, a second
official said.
“The port itself is very
attractive and the geostrategic location is very attractive, again being
outside the Strait of Hormuz,” the official said, adding that negotiations
began under the Obama administration.
COMPETITION WITH CHINA
For Oman, the deal will
further advance its efforts to transform Duqm, once just a fishing village 550
km (345 miles) south of capital Muscat, into a key Middle East industrial and
port center, as its diversifies its economy beyond oil and gas exports.
The deal could also better
position the United States in the region for what has become a global
competition with China for influence.
Chinese firms once aimed to
invest up to $10.7 billion in the Duqm project, a massive injection of capital
into Oman, in what was expected to be a commercial, not military, arrangement.
“It looks to me like the
Chinese relationship here isn’t as big as it appeared it was going to be a
couple of years ago,” the second official said.
“There’s a section of the Duqm
industrial zone that’s been set aside for the Chinese ... and as far as I can
tell so far they’ve done just about nothing.”
Still, China has in the past
shown no qualms about rubbing up against U.S. military facilities.
In 2017, the African nation of
Djibouti, positioned at another geostrategic choke-point, the strait of Bab
al-Mandeb, became home to China’s first overseas military base. The U.S.
military already had a base located just miles away, which has been crucial for
operations against Islamic State, al Qaeda and other militant groups.
- Reuters