Dubai: Citing instability in the region, including the threat posed by piracy, the United Kingdom is to set up a permanent military facility in the Middle East for the first time since removing its last permanent base over four decades ago.
At a security conference in Manama, Bahrain, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond signed the deal, which would expand the Mina Salman Port in Bahrain, adding aircraft carriers and destroyers to four British minesweepers already located at the facility.
Bahrain already hosts the US Navy's Fifth Fleet at a larger, adjacent facility. [08/12/14]
