In strategic shift, British navy gains new Bahraini base

MANAMA, Bahrain — Britain has signed a deal with Bahrain that will bolster the United Kingdom’s military presence in the island nation and give it a permanent naval base in the oil-rich Persian Gulf region, officials announced Saturday.

The agreement marks a strategic shift for Britain, which formally withdrew from its major Gulf military bases in 1971.

It comes as the U.K., the United States and their allies seek to push back Islamic State militants who have taken over large parts of Iraq and Syria and as world powers work to forge a lasting nuclear deal with Iran, which sits just across the Gulf from Bahrain.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond emphasized his country’s historic links to the Gulf in announcing the plans at a security conference in the Bahraini capital, Manama.

Bahrain already hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, which is responsible for operations around the Arabian Peninsula as well as parts of the Indian Ocean.

The deal ensures a permanent footing for the Royal Navy in the Gulf, Hammond said.

The Strait of Hormuz, which is the Gulf’s only exit and is bounded by Iran and Oman, is the route for 30 percent of world oil supplies carried by tanker ships.

The agreement will create Britain’s first fixed Gulf base since it pulled out of former imperial outposts commonly referred to as being “east of Suez” over four decades ago.

Defense Secretary Michael Fallon described the $23 million facility as “a permanent expansion of the Royal Navy’s footprint” that will ensure Britain can send more ships and bigger vessels into the Gulf.

The base is expected to open in 2016.