'Qatar Has Important Role To Ensure Gulf Security'

(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Qatar has an important role to play in ensuring Gulf security, especially in the emerging scenario since the open war between Iran and Israel because of its role as a conflict resolution player, noted a Middle East security expert.
“The effort that Qatar is making alongside Egypt in bringing Israel and Hamas to a ceasefire in Gaza is extremely significant to de-escalating tensions in the region. So, I think that is an important role that Qatar plays,” Hasan Alhasan, senior fellow for Middle East Policy, International Institute for Strategic Studies told Gulf Times.
He was interacting with Gulf Times on the sidelines of a panel discussion 'Rethinking Gulf Security Following the Iran- Israel War,' organised by the Middle East Council on Global Affairs.
“Qatar is a member of the GCC and obviously it received a lot of GCC support and solidarity during the Iranian attacks at the height of the war. So, I think Qatar is an important diplomatic player and it is using its good offices to broker de-escalation in conflict resolution,” explained the official.
As for the readiness of the GCC countries to face any emerging security threats, Alhasan noted that there is significant military modernisation in the Gulf States including Qatar.
He feels that the recent war between Iran and Israel has direct security destabilising spillover effects for the Arab Gulf states and the Arab Gulf states are beginning to perceive it increasingly.
“I think Israel actually presents more of a direct threat because of the fact that it seems to have embraced the view of the region as an open battleground. This has direct security destabilising spillover effects for the Arab and the Gulf States,” he said.
Alhasan highlighted there is a significant improvement in GCC defence and military capabilities over the past few years.
“However the GCC states may not be capable of addressing the threat posed by Israel specifically as they continue to rely on Western defence technology. They continue to rely on their defence and security partnership with the US and those might not prove fully effective in deterring and defending against potential, theoretical and hypothetical threats,” he continued.
The expert stated that Qatar and the other GCC states are already part of a defence and security alliance, which is called the GCC.“The GCC has a mutual defence undertaking that unites all of the GCC states together. So, the GCC states already have this sort of commitment to defending one another against external threats,” he underlined.
“The question is whether the GCC states are actually taking concrete steps and measures for further defence integration to make sure that they can act as a single army in case of conflict. And this is where I think a lot of the work will have to be done to bring GCC military and defence capabilities more closely together to operate cohesively as a single military unit in case of any conflict,” added, Alhasan security Middle East security expert Hasan Alhasan Middle East Policy

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