ISLAMABAD – The creation of an Israeli-Emirati intelligence-gathering basein the Yemeni island of Socotra aims at monitoring Iran, China andPakistan, according to political and strategic experts.
JForum, the official site of the French-speaking Jewish community in Paris,revealed earlier that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel are workingto establish a spy base in Socotra.
“This Israeli-Emirati spy base aims at monitoring the Iranian activities inthe Gulf of Aden and curbing Tehran’s relationship with Houthi rebels,”Ibrahim Fraihat, a professor of international conflict resolution at theDoha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Anadolu Agency.
Socotra overlooks the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, a main shipping routethat connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea.
The UAE has deployed hundreds of troops on the strategic island since May2018, leading to a rift with the Yemeni government, which rejects thedeployment.
“The creation of this base is an additional indicator that theEmirati-Israeli deal was meant for forging a solid alliance between the twocountries, not just normalizing relations,” Fraihat said.
On Aug. 13, the UAE and Israel announced a US-brokered agreement tonormalize their relations, including opening embassies in each other’sterritory.
The Palestinian Authority and resistance factions have denounced theUAE-Israel deal, saying it does not serve the Palestinian cause and ignoresthe rights of Palestinians.
Fraihat believes that the Israeli-Emirati spy base will also help keepChina’s economic activities under scanner.
“This base can provide critical security services to the US regarding theChinese economic activity, especially its trade with Europe,” he said,citing US President Donald Trump’s tense relationship with Beijing.
“Trump is engaged in a trade war with China and needs to monitor theChinese commercial activities,” he added.
Iran already surrounded
Sayed Mohammad Marandi, a political analyst and professor at TehranUniversity, said Iran is already surrounded by many US military bases inthe region.
“Israel has no capability to attack Iran even if they have a joint militarybase with UAE in Yemen,” he told Anadolu Agency.
Marandi argues that the Iranians are happy to see that bilateral relationsbetween the UAE and Israel have become public after years of “secretcooperation”.
“The UAE knows that its deal with Israel is hurting its image in theregion, but it is being forced by Trump to do so in an effort to help himin the November’s presidential race,” Marandi said.
Read Top Stories
Eye on Pakistan
Indian analyst Haidar Abbas believes that the spy base will also be used tomonitor Pakistan.
“From now onwards, Socotra Island will neither be of Houthi rebels, nor ofUAE or Yemen, but its complete suzerainty will belong to Israel meaning theUS,” he said in an article published in countercurrents.org, an Indian newsportal.
“This rapidly changing scenario is altering the world situation as neverbefore, as Pakistan which means China, would now be under the Israeliradars,” he said.
“If any sabotage is to happen at Gwadar then Pakistan-China would blameIsrael and Gulf-states equally, hence, the relations of Pakistan withGulf-states is going to be strained forever.”
South Asia
Professor Syed Qandil Abbas of Azam University in Islamabad opines that thedeal will have a direct impact on the Middle East, but it can indirectlyinfluence South Asia and other regions as well.
“If India-UAE-Israel triangle emerges then it will change the regionaldynamics of South Asia as well,” he told Anadolu Agency.
“Countering Iran could be one of the major objectives,” he said.
The UAE-Israel joint venture in Socotra will be an attempt to monitor theIranian naval movement in the region as well as examining sea and airtraffic in the southern region of the Red Sea, he added.
“Pakistan’s foreign policy is traditionally India centric and Pakistan isalready facing critical consequences of the Israel-India strategicpartnership. Israeli military equipment and its commandos are alreadypresent in occupied Kashmir,” he said.
Abbas said that this evolving situation has been a “serious concern” forPakistan.
“If the Israel-UAE deal includes India as well then this triangle can posea serious threat to Pakistan- the only nuclear state in the Muslim world,”he said. “Similarly, it can endanger peace and security in whole of SouthAsia and the Middle East,”he added. -Anadolu Agency