Members of the Ukrainian Navy stand on top of the Ukrainian navy ship Ternopil at the Crimean port of Sevastopol March 11, 2014.
Members of the Ukrainian Navy stand on top of the Ukrainian navy ship Ternopil at the Crimean port of Sevastopol March 11, 2014. Reuters

The United Kingdom is reviving its Bahrain naval base, after a gap of more than 40 years. Bahrain was a former British protectorate. The base is being revamped with a view to make it the main British hub for operations in the Persian Gulf, in a bid to sharpen the attacks on ISIS. As per the recent agreement with Bahrain, Britain's Royal Navy will deploy ships of larger deadweight and in bigger numbers. The base is going to become the Royal Navy's largest centre of operations, outside the U.K.

To Hit ISIS

In the immediate term, the naval base will be used to ramp up the U.K.'s role in the 60-nation international coalition that is fighting ISIS. British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon described the new base as a permanent expansion of the Royal Navy's footprint to enable Britain for sending more ships to reinforce "stability" in the Gulf.

"We will be based again in the Gulf for the long term," Fallon said, according to a report by Global security News. Bahrain Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid also said the deal is a reiteration of the determination to maintain regional security and stability in the face of challenging circumstances.

More Teeth

The FT also reported about the strategic gain accruing to Britain from the Bahrain base. "This is an extremely important region for us. There are a number of the threats in this region that have been engaging us very directly .and affect our own security," the defence secretary Michael Fallon told the FT. It gives the advantage of an air base and naval base with more options, he said.

The Royal Navy will now position its most advanced destroyer, the Type 45, as well as other aircraft carriers, in the region. The U.S. Fifth Fleet is also based in Bahrain. "As the U.S. focuses its effort on the Asia Pacific region, we and our European partners will be taking a greater share of the burden in the Gulf," said the U.K. foreign secretary Philip Hammond in a chat with journalists, while attending the Manama Dialogue.

Maritime Complex

The work to revamp the U.K's Maritime Component Command complex in Bahrain began in April. Britain's Defence Ministry is constructing the new facilities at Mina Salman port, which is the Royal Bahrain Naval Force's primary military installation. It used to be the British military hub for over 30 years. Now Mina Salman is the base for four British mine-hunter warships. The work at Mina Salman is expected to be complete by mid-2015.

The U. K will be leveraging the Mina Salman facility for its operations against the terror outfit Islamic State that has large territories in Iraq and Syria at its control. So far the UK., U.S., Canada and others have been conducting airstrikes against the ISIS, using the air base in Cyprus. Bahrain was Britain's primary naval stronghold in the Persian Gulf region since 1935. It hosted the Royal Navy's Middle Eastern command until 1967 and continued as Britain's main regional naval base until it attained freedom in 1971.