Gulf States Need Greater Security Autonomy, But US Remains Key Expert Say

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Gulf states need to strengthen their national and collective defence capabilities while retaining the United States as a central security partner, experts said during a panel discussion at Hili forum.

Prof. Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, Non-Resident Senior Associate at ECSSR, identified Iran as the principal long-term threat to Gulf security and argued that the region could not manage the challenge through national efforts alone.“There's no way you can attempt to do this on your own,” Abdulla said.

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Discussing the external strategic layer of Gulf security, he said it was“still needed today” and would be needed“even more in the future”. At the same time, Abdulla emphasised the importance of national deterrence and pointed to the UAE's ability to respond to threats.

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“The United Arab Emirates has shown that we can sometimes, on our own, stand up to the most vicious attack coming our way from Iran,” he said.

His remarks reflected a central tension in the discussion: the Gulf wants greater capacity to act independently, but the panellists did not regard other international partners as immediate replacements for American capabilities.

New threats reshape defence priorities

Firas Maksad, Managing Director of the Middle East and North Africa Practice at Eurasia Group in the US, highlighted the cost imbalance created by low-cost drones and other asymmetric weapons.

He described the trend as the“democratisation of violence”.“Cheap drones - $2,000 drones - require $2 million missiles to be countered,” Maksad said.

Maksad also discussed uncertainty surrounding US policy and the need for Gulf countries to develop more local defence capacity. He argued that diversification did not necessarily mean turning to China or Russia, and pointed instead to the growing role of middle powers in supporting Gulf defence and economic projects.

Dr. Zafer Al-Ajmi, Executive Director of the Gulf Monitoring Group in Kuwait, said the threat environment had already changed military doctrine in the region.“What happened is that air defence became the first priority,” Al-Ajmi said.

He described Gulf defence as operating through five levels: national forces, GCC collective security, allies, Arab defence arrangements and friendly states.

Al-Ajmi said partners such as Pakistan and Türkiye were becoming more important within that structure. However, he also noted that they could not match the long-range deployment capability of the United States or move comparable power to the Gulf at short notice.

A modular security approach

Dr. Khalid Al-Jufairi, Adjunct Associate Professor of International Politics at Georgetown University in Qatar, proposed a more flexible structure for Gulf security.

“Mine is not a layered approach; it's a modular approach a modular approach to the security of the Gulf,” Al-Jufairi said.

He argued that the objective was not to eliminate dependence entirely, but to ensure that Gulf states had a wider range of political and operational options during a crisis.

“The reality is not about relying on a certain supplier or entity, but to have the Gulf states the option, politically and operationally, to choose under dependence,” he said.

Under this approach, different suppliers and partners could be brought into the security structure according to the requirements of a particular crisis.

Dr. Dania Thafer, Executive Director of the Gulf International Forum in the US, focused on technology access and the development of local industries. She said Gulf states needed a long-term strategy for working with international partners that were willing to share technology.

Thafer also argued that security planning must move beyond protecting physical borders and bases to securing connectivity and systems.

The session was moderated by Mohamed Al Dhuhoori, a researcher in US and Middle Eastern affairs at ECSSR. The discussion also considered deterrence, diplomacy and the possibility of a future regional security framework involving Iran.

The panellists' proposals differed in emphasis, but broadly pointed towards a pragmatic model stronger national defence, improved GCC cooperation, a wider network of international partners and a continuing American role in Gulf security.

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