The US and Bahrain have upgraded their defense relationship under a new security and economic deal that could become a template for Washington’s commitments to other Middle East allies including Saudi Arabia.
The agreement, known as the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement, or C-SIPA, aims to promote cooperation between the US and Bahrain across areas including defense, security, technology and trade.
The deal is a significant boost for Bahrain at a time when other countries in the oil-exporting Persian Gulf, including regional heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are seeking more formal security guarantees from the US.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa signed the pact in Washington Wednesday after nearly a year of talks.
“We’re looking forward to using this agreement as a framework for additional countries that may wish to join us in strengthening regional stability, economic cooperation, and technological innovation,” Blinken said at the signing ceremony for the deal.
A tiny island connected by bridge to its much bigger neighbor Saudi Arabia, Bahrain already hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is essentially responsible for the Middle East, and is classified by the US as a major non-NATO ally.
No NATO
The pact upgrades the US security commitment to Bahrain, but stops short of a NATO-style Article 5 defense guarantee that would require it to respond to an attack on its ally as an attack on itself.
Instead, the pact aims to deter threats, according to a senior administration official. In the event of an attack against Bahrain the US is committing to immediately consult with its ally and discuss ways to respond, the official said.
The agreement, which does not require Congressional approval, includes provisions that would allow other Middle East nations to join in due course, the official said.
The US and Bahrain agreed to “work together to help deter and confront any external aggression against the territorial integrity” of either country, according to the text of the agreement.
The deal comes as the Biden administration works with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on a potential framework that would see Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel in exchange for firm security guarantees from the US.
Read more: A Saudi-Israeli Peace Deal? Who Wants What and Why: QuickTake
Saudi Next?
Normalization with Saudi Arabia would be a significant coup for Israel. While it’s signed historic diplomatic deals with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan since 2020, Saudi Arabia is the biggest economy in the Middle East, with the government investing trillions of dollars to diversify from oil. It’s also the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites at Mecca and Medina, giving its stance weight in the broader Islamic world.
Biden administration officials have been shuttling back and forth to Riyadh for months, hoping to conclude a deal ahead of next year’s presidential elections, but have also signaled that clearing the substantial hurdles will not be easy.
China’s Influence
Prince Mohammed has increasingly looked to develop security and economic partnerships beyond his country’s traditional reliance on the US. Saudi Arabia has turned to China to broker a rapprochement with regional rival Iran that has helped to reduce tensions in the oil-exporting region.
Concern over China’s rising influence in the Middle East has helped spur US efforts to keep its historic allies onside. Plans for a trade corridor between India and Europe via the Middle East, unveiled at the Group of 20 summit last week, are part of that broader effort to create alternatives to China.
Privately, the Saudis have asked for firm defense guarantees from the US, access to top-notch American weaponry and for the White House to allow them to enrich uranium domestically as part of a plan to build nuclear power plants.
Saudi officials have also expressed frustration over Israel’s deteriorating ties with the Palestinians. Riyadh has publicly said that normalization with Israel would not come without a resolution for the Palestinians.
Bahrain normalized relations with Israel in 2020 with the signing of the Abraham Accords. That agreement was considered part of US efforts to create a bulwark against Iran, with which Bahrain has often had a tense relationship, accusing it in the past of trying to foment unrest.
This latest security pact is the next step in terms of expanding the US-Bahrain relationship and creating a new security architecture for the Middle East, said a Bahraini official.
Under C-SIPA, the US and Bahrain will also explore the development of so-called Small Modular Reactors, mini nuclear power plants that could be used by Bahrain as part of its transition to cleaner forms of energy.
(Updates with quote in fifth paragraph)