Story is coming up next. Brace to the right see china israel u. E. N. The us are just a few of the countries building over ready how bases in the region now turkey is the latest to that group so why the growing interest in the red sea this is inside story. Welcome to the program and. The red sea has long been one of the welds most important trading routes its a vital link between asia africa the middle east and into europe everything from oil to food and naval vessels pass through it and countries including saudi arabia sudan yemen and egypt all border it but in recent years several states have been increasing their presence in the red sea the latest is turkey president. Recently traveled to sudan to sign deals worth six hundred fifteen Million Dollars with so that he is leader. This effectively gives turkey a unique foothold in this increasingly important and competitive waterway. Part of the deal will see turkey rebuild the sudanese port city on so wack an island on the red sea it was once controlled by the Ottoman Empire but has been abandoned over the past century turkey plans to build a dock there which will be used not only by civilian vessels but also its military the turkish president says the point of all this is to develop tourism and create a transit point for pilgrims crossing the red sea to mecca so dan says the deal with turkey does not harm the security of arab countries but heres why some are concerned this is so arc an island is on sudans eastern coast and will give turkey a direct access of the red sea now if we take a wider look at the region you can see the other players in the area saudi arabia lies directly to the west is western naval fleet has a base on the coast of jeddah and here is yemen thats where the United Arab Emirates has set up numerous ports along the coast it has the Largest Naval fleet in the middle east and africa and it has four bases on the red sea alone and heres where it gets complicated and a host of Foreign Forces also have either bases or Security Patrol presence here including the u. S. China the u. K. Russia and iran lets bring in our guests in istanbul mitigation security analyst and former military officer in brussels james moran associate Senior Research fellow at the center for european policy studies and former principal adviser on the middle east and north africa at the external Action Service. Joining us from london to watch a military analyst and retired jordanian force general german thank you very much indeed for joining us this to let me start by asking mr goh this mr this is a work in deal signed between the turkish government and the Sudanese Government is this part of turkey stepping up its africa engagement or theres more to this story i think first i have to say that the ruling party seems coming to the office in two thousand and two the ruling party has been send a very ambitious Africa Vision so in this right now a point at this point we see new opening of a new fall dirk indias Africa Vision and the definition i think what happened in sudan is i think turkey ancora has been trying to establish a forward military base in strategic island for the issue moment of for object if first one is security Capacity Building in the hospital of sudan saw how pink is sudanese military you know for a Capacity Building to have forms and second one is economy becoming an economic hub of this you know island for turkey is designing of turkeys africa open it in the field of economy and turkey one is a humanitarian. He has been. Successful in the your official packet right down before post conflict reconstruction efforts and the last issue is force protection surely about a gay swarm this is the question i can be all right answer here soon this force protection so youre talking about three Main Elements humanitarian security and cooperation with the Sudanese Government midsomer run this is something that gives the turkish government a foothold in an extremely important area in the world so how significant is this development. Without to see it there are of course many others who in the last couple of years of. Great presence in the area we have to remember that china has a in this very first overseas facility anywhere in the world in djibouti very close by we see that various developments and the eritrean paul which has been given giving to iranians and others. The whole area in the last two or three years has been subject to a raising up military presence and so forth. In the in the red sea and this is very very significant because of course remember especially from the european point of view the vast majority of trade the e. U. Trade with asia is passing through the red sea and through the suez canal and through the bible not straight of the southern end of the sea. This is always been a key consideration perhaps the key consideration for everyone that this trade is not disrupted by what is going on in the various conflicts around the area mr. This comes at a very critical moment for the region weve seen the media in egypt very critical of the deal between turkey and sudan is that is something which is likely to further strain relations between turkey and one hand the u. A. E. And saudi arabia on the other hand. It is very strategic and what. The very critical chalk for the whole. Should be secure and free passage for of trade cetera. Having said that. Presence is important for so many country and they were to be there and that it is and that the area. The who theeye i think v. M. E. Crisis reflect that and that in the. Terrorism also is important factor. Concerning that matter on that area so we see the. Booth he now. Prices would be me sad thing hitting some of the ship and vessels on that it. Really made the u. S. Alarmed by that and sending some ships versus that to secure the border there concerning this so the end user the trying to get some. In or even in yemen itself some of the port seaport this trying to get there because of their strategic location over there but. Having said that even though israel is very important for israel even jordan is the only exit through to the sea and thats why its very ok and for the whole country lets say with that region let me go to mr back to mr go to stay with the regional implication so. Turkey has had a very strained relations between with this saudi arabia and the u. A. E. Over the g. C. C. Quizes they set up a mystery base here in qatar now theyre setting up a new military base in. Sudan is this which is likely to further raise the anxiety of the saudis and the a merit is. Yes as you have emphasized right now turkey has a tree military bases Permanent Military bases purse one is in in qatar and twenty eight in turkey has been planning to increase the military base in qatar to treat thousand soldiers as a sort of to get level you know military base and also in somalia we have turkey has a big military facility providing military education and training to the you know Somalia Military and right now in sold sudan so we have a triangle here and there just a regular and this force projection attempts against whom i think right now as you have said you know a saudi led you know gulf block is against turkey and turkey particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean we have been very very getting increasingly was able to rival the re between a turkey and a greek. Creek cyprus greece israel and egypt a block over the hydrocarbon reserves in Eastern Mediterranean sort uncle has been feeling itself i think under pressure and to go beyond to get through that pressure and the results are none it is a military move i will say yeah thats right it is a sort of leverage to use again this is a pull up to diffuse the existing tension mr morales also let me say this last point or show this is a bilateral yes go ahead briefly please. Did this and this last point is extremely important what we are here talking about is now then Regional Alliance building and forward to what we are talking here is done by literal military is a no corporation between two countries saw this issue of by literal. Military cooperation it comes to be done packing. Delicately manager will talk about the challenges ahead mr. Principal adviser on the mideast and north africa of these external Action Service you have served in in many countries in the region the region the reason why i would like to focus a little bit more on the regional implications because its just look at whats been happening over the last few months egypt hands over sovereignty of two main islands in the red sea set up until on to saudi arabia saudi arabia decides to build a mega city on the red sea that it acquires more naval bases in iraq somalia and also in yemen now the turks step in isnt this likely to further raise the concerns about how to move forward in one of the most important and extremely volatile areas in the world im not sure that those particular developments will necessarily raise the tension the tensions over a very very high the main worry at the moment in terms of Maritime Security in the region must be the conflict in yemen weve already seen one of your other speakers as mentioned weve already seen some attacks on shipping and military and want to commercials as well year or so ago and should the desperation set in certainly if there should be an attack on the port of data or into any time soon we can expect perhaps more of that to come that i think is the number one issue at the moment and how best to solve that but of course the best way to solve it is to try to get a political path forward on the conflict in yemen for the u. S. Point of view of course we fully support the efforts of the u. N. Special envoy we also contribute through the european. Into Operation Atalanta which is still going on it was originally set up to fight piracy of course in the gulf of aden but its in the area and its got a mandate at least until the end of two thousand and eighteen and we are very concerned about that all of these other developments taking place all significant in such a sensitive area and everybody will be watching everybody else but i think the conflict in yemen has got to be top of the agenda and related to that isnt it about time that the countries the literal countries of the red sea together with everyone else with an interest in the area comes together to try to improve somehow the regional coordination between the Different MilitaryServices Security services and indeed the commercial interests so that we can have a more stable picture Going Forward because this is an absolutely vital seaway which is going to be. There for the rest rest of the century at least no one on the yemeni issue saudi arabia has been accusing iran of using the whole things as proxies to further destabilize the region and control to cizik bourse in yemen isnt this something that could. To the confrontation which is underway between the saudis and yemenis so between the saudis and the iranians in the region it is an extension of conflict between sowed in and iran in yemen its going to be like this. But i think with the blunt human side over this that we might see. Some interference from regional and they need to free that conflict and that effect to get the food medicine to these people i mean its good to sort of whats happening in yemen. And i think the. Conflict might stay on for a why but they need to freeze that conflict and get together and use the full rearm and a new election and that. It will take a while. But as youre a previous speaker said this is a very hot everybody and full of activity military commercial and the cetera. And yemeni crisis will impact what scares me is the if they mind that and all this start using the suicide board small boat the very a giant these think these tactics and or using the side hitting the ships so we might have some. Reflection on that. The yemeni crisis as i said its. It is one of the Top Priorities now for the International Community mr shand the africa is quite obvious now that its becoming central to the turkeys Global Expansion strategy but this is something that could come at a cost because i mean for you to be able to maintain foothold in different parts of africa particular the red sea you need to spend more expand on infrastructure programs can turkey for that as a time when its economy has been facing a crisis yes i mean this is an question director related to. High finance between us intention its a rhetorical and its capacity you know and we see as sort of a widening gap between. Rhetorical and its capacity but right now i would say that considering Turkish Military is you know current posture particularly the navys current post your i think anchor are you can do that but at the moment but can maintain this in an sustainable fashion i think this is the question that we have to ask and also let me say this is a Domestic Social political side of the story which is i think extremely relevant when explaining the recent book of forward military bases in sudan right now is into an eighteen to an eighteen will be an Election Year round kyra in turkey and emotional reality in turkey with the things that do you think is not to relevant right now that extent how you feel in turkey is extremely important saw for the Decision Makers they need and nationalist and you know to some extent the populist discourse so. The turkish people you know day know and they did they recognize this sort of military move brought as a part of embodiment of National Pride if this is a good point for domestic political consumption the second issue Syrian Military relations in turkey right now. Always have some tensions between the military and this even you know needs after the july fifteenth two thousand and sixteen. And in these sort of moves you know creation or establishing a military base there brought is a good point to defuse the existing passion between the military any sense within it is so this is. A room for corp for the civilian and military units which is good. And the last issue is operational military Technology Side of the story Turkish Military particularly navy has been trying to improve its capabilities in the fields of namely aviation Naval Aviation and also marines so turkey has been planning to procure a light Aircraft Carrier so turkey has been trying to give more agency to the navy for the force Protection Force projection or so our frica is and is the mission is to concentrate more in two thousand and two a nice midsomer run russia has also expressed a desire to set up a military base in sudan i mean this design expressed by the russians the presence of the chinese in places like djibouti just. Djibouti is an interesting case where he has a never miss french never mature based on American History base and also a Chinese Naval military base this interest in red sea is it because of its just to teach importance shipping oil route or it gives any key player major stakes in major issues including the middle east and also the old shipping route there so i think there is a little bit remember for china that route is not important for oil and gas it goes out through the strait of hormuz the other way but it is very very important as i said earlier for chinese trade with europe which is huge. Talking six seven hundred billion euros a year in trade two way between china and the European Union countries plus other countries in europe not members of the union and its evident that china would have a very strong interest in doing all it can to project more stability into the region and i think the experience and dealing with the chinese that the u. S. Have notably as i mentioned earlier with the Operation Atalanta against piracy off the somali coast has been pretty positive there that interest is one thing the interest of others there is i mean. Obviously there are big interests in terms of its operations in africa and the horn of africa apart from his role as a key European Union member state so the interest to vary quite a bit and its not surprising that people will want to do all they can to protect their interests the difficulty is when these interests do not properly coordinated and thats the point that i made earlier that there doesnt seem to be at the moment any real effort to improve International Coordination of the management of the area the egyptians in fact i think about a couple of weeks ago made an announcement that they would like to see that im not sure thats the answer but thats certainly the direction that interest in trouble that one would like to see more of mr no one i mean were talking about a galaxy of countries with different agendas approaching in the area is it is there any concern that this could lead to a backlash a confrontation between key players looking for the biggest say in the red sea area its form of all of that area and i dont think. What nation aspect with out in the future thats the only area where the conflict will stay for a while. Hopefully they will get some of what the nation look youve got the conflict between the arabs and youve got a state. And the horn of africa some of the countries youve got also the yemenis grices you go up also you have some problems so that the area will stay hot for a while i dont think every county pursue its interest. Defraud the oil is very important for the whole world if its if the bubble meant to be blocked for any reason or been delayed that will shoot up the oil prices. So that this it is very hot but the main thing i think everybody should concern all of keeping the. Strait to babbitt men open free will wait to see asian best indian ocean and best fake and. So this thing this should be i mean concession about it from the whole country but mr shand briefly please whats the danger of overreach for turkey in africa and the red sea. For almost a year what we see in the Turkish Foreign policy is a shift from fashion diplomatic civilian design to Foreign Policy to an more muscular more economy centric Foreign Policy which i define as moral realism in this more of the realities in we see a combination of a user of or you know promotion of heart Power Military capabilities push for Economic Cooperation humanitarian purposes and you know historical cultural and religious values so we see a sort of combination of these four kompany and seen this in the paradigm i would say more of the realism so in this is a new paradigm the issue. The question that should be asked is the question that you ask in fact you know the capacity side of the story and can maintain this in an sustainable fashion but right now has me feeling itself in any pressure is i said before and we do sort of moves need openings like the one that we witness in sudan has me trying to increase its leverage sitting on the strategic bargaining table tables with the regional players like egypt israel or iran and also with system level players. And their russia so ancora is reacting to this pressure by these sort of with these sort of moves midsomer on. Key players with different agendas huge stakes theyre talking about us were talking about piracy were talking about regional conflicts talking about yemen eritrea and djibouti we you said that there needs to be this call to bring about all those countries to sign a pact about how to manage and to make this is one of the red sea one of the safest areas in the world how can they come together set aside their regional and International Agendas and agree on a pact to manage the red sea. Thats not something thats going to happen overnight and if ever it were to happen it would probably take many many years doesnt mean to say it shouldnt be tried but you have to get your ducks in a row and the duck that is at the head of the row at the moment must be the conflict in yemen surely if we can see more effort being put in and i here again go back to the u. N. Efforts there to try to get a political path forward for a solution in yemen if there can be a little bit more commitment on the part of the main players to those efforts perhaps that could be a starting point for better coordination in the wider region were not there yet and clearly the conflict in yemen at the moment is going through a very worrying stage and i think the suffering of the yemeni people is something we all feel with theres no question about that one of the worst humanitarian crisis at the moment that we can see but that has got to be the issue before the International Community and the states party to that conflict right now and surely the best way forward it seems to me would be to put a little bit more energy it would put more effort into the efforts of coordination that are currently being tried by mail and so forth in the United Nations that could provide a starting point a better look at a nation with a future. Jim some run when i thank you very much indeed for your contribution and thank you too for watching you can see the program again any time by visiting a website as you know dot com for further discussion go to our Facebook Page thats facebook dot com for us last a. J. Its a story you can also join the conversation on twitter that is at a. J. Its a story from the hashemite about on the whole team here. An underground fire has been burning for over a century beneath indias largest cofield. Now open cost mining his boat the flames to the surface with devastating consequences for the local population. As communities are destroyed and thousand suffer from toxic fumes what lies behind this human and environmental disaster. People in power the burning city at this time on aljazeera. A nation where corruption is endemic now embroiled in a battle to hold the power. How does this radical transformation. 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