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Bahrain Mission of the Armed Forces
After 1970 the Sultan's Armed Forces (SAF; later
renamed the
Royal Armed Forces) has became one of the more modern and
better
trained fighting forces among the Arab gulf states.
Recognizing
its strategic importance guarding the Strait of Hormuz
(through
which nearly one-fifth of the world's oil transited) and
the Gulf
of Oman, the sultanate has struggled to maintain a high
degree of
military preparedness in spite of its limited financial
means.
Its defense budget in 1992 was estimated at US$1.7
billion,
exclusive of the GCC subsidy shared with Bahrain. It has
periodically tested the capabilities of its armed forces
by
engaging in joint exercises with Western powers,
particularly in
regular exercises with British forces. Oman has taken the
initiative in efforts to strengthen regional collective
security
through the GCC. At the conclusion of the Persian Gulf
War, it
proposed the development of a GCC regional security force
of
100,000 personnel.
For many years after the defeat of the Dhofar
insurgents,
Oman regarded its southern border with the PDRY as the
most
likely source of future conflict. The PDRY provided the
Dhofari
rebels with supplies, training camps, and refuge from
attacks.
Omani ground and air strength was concentrated at Salalah,
Thamarit, and other towns near the PDRY border. The threat
of
PFLO dissident activity supported by the PDRY or border
operations against Oman declined after reconciliation with
the
PDRY, marked by the exchange of ambassadors in 1987.
Apart from its military role, the SAF carried out a
variety
of civil action projects that, particularly in Dhofar,
were an
important means of gaining the allegiance of the people.
Military
engineers assisted road construction in mountain areas.
The air
force carried out supply operations and provided medical
service
to remote areas. The navy performed similar duties along
Oman's
long coastline. The navy also patrolled the sultanate's
territorial waters and the 370-kilometer Exclusive
Economic Zone
to deter smuggling and illegal fishing.
Data as of January 1993
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