Analyzing the reasons of the Persian Gulf's Arab countries failure in settlement of their border and territorial disputes

From the ancient times, border disputes and territorial expansionism always have been existed between countries and states and they have been the main factors in creation of warfare among them. The first step to fixing boundaries was gaited in Europe by Westphalia treaty. Fixing boundaries and resolving border disputes in Europe didn’t completed even after the Second World War and continued to collapse of theSoviet Union. But in the most regions of the world such as the Persian Gulf, we can observe countless conflicts in the field of territorial and border issues. This regions from the advent of its southern margin countries, always has been the scene of many conflicts and disputes and approximately all Arab countries of this region have border disputes with each other and most of these disputes up to now have been remained stable.
In this article, we try to answer this question that: what is the main reason of disappointment of Arab countries in the region of Persian Gulf to settlement the border disputes among them?
2. Research The Research methodology is analytical- descriptive and in collecting the required information and data, library method is used.
3-1.the procedure of creating region's border
The collapse of Turkish Empire and the decades after that, is a very important era for Middle East. What happened in these decisive decades, is the apparent sovereignty of European on the region that changed and redraw the international borders and leaded to advent of new countries.
In the central Middle East, the intervention of European powers had the most influence on political map of the region. In the Persian Gulf, by undertaking contracts that Britain imposed on the sheikhdoms in south coast of the Persian Gulf from the early nineteenth century, the region was completely under British rule. So this colonial power in order to gain its goals, determined the region's borders.
3-2. border- territorial disputes between Arab countries of the region
The borders of this region consists of sea and land borders. In this writing, we stress specially on the land borders and then deliberate the discrepancies between them.
The disputes between Saudi Arabia – Oman and Abu Dhabi about Buraimi Oasis: Buraimi Oasis include nine villages that have mixture tribal descent. By using the tribal nationalities, Abu Dhabi – Oman and Saudi Arabia could claim about the all or a part of Borimi oases. Britain in 1955 on behalf of Abu Dhabi, without obtaining the consent of Saudi Arabia appointed a mete. In 1974 united Arab emirates and Saudi Arabia compromised by 1955 ridge. The border between Oman and Abu Dhabi was drawn; so that the six villages of Buraimi remained in Abu Dhabi and three villages remained in Oman. But in 2005, the border disputes between Saudi Arabia and emirates about the borimi oases restarted again.
Territorial disputes between Iraq and Kuwait: By the independence of Kuwait from Britain, Iraq based on that Kuwait is a part of Basra state in Turkish era, has claimed periodically the sovereignty on this sheikhdom. Iraq also has some claims about Warbah and Bubiyan islands. Indeed, the most important reasons of Iraq for attaching Kuwait to its soil, was the lack of free access of this country to the Persian Gulf. Another factor that had influence in Iraq policy toward Kuwait is accessing to oil fields.
The territorial disputes of Saudi Arabia and Qatar: Saudi Arabia and Qatar in 1992 have long borders disagreements. Riyadh and Doha by signing an agreement, concealed temporarily their disputes. In July 2008, Saudi Arabia and Qatar agreed to resolve the Khawr al Udayddisputes between emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. But the state of United Arab Emirates besides protesting to Qatar, associated any determination of the borders in the Khawr al Udayd region to agreement of this country. The procedure of foresaid disputes has been continued practically. Saudi Arabia tries to access the Persian Gulf's coastlines in Qatar peninsula and then access to the largest in operation gas field in the world.
The territorial disputes of Saudi Arabia and Yemen: The first border agreement between Saudi Arabia and Yemen that is known as Taif, was signed in 1934. In 2000, Yemen state in order to reducing tensions and Saudi Arabia's interventions, signed the Jeddah agreement with Saudi Arabia and recognized Taif agreement. But the tensions between the two countries didn’t end by this agreement. Indeed, the disputes of the two countries consist of vast areas. Yemen has territorial claims about three oil rich provinces such as: Asir- Najran and Jizan that now are handled by Saudi Arabia; on the other side, the territorial claims of Saudi Arabia about Yemen is broader and include the oil rich province of Hadhramautin Yemen thatdue to standing beside Indian ocean, has strategic importance.
The territorial disputes of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait: The disputes of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia refers to the early twentieth century and the claims of Ibn Saud about Kuwait. The last border agreement among Saudi Arabia and Kuwait happened in 2000. Iran and Iraq are opposed to this agreement. Iran protests to this agreement because this agreement virtually violated the agreement of Iran and England (Arab's foreign policy officer) in 1965. Also, by regarding to the agreement of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia about commonly use of stratum and substrate's resources in the two sides of the border, Saudi Arabia practically enters to the shared oil and gas resources between Kuwait and Iran.
The disputes of Saudi Arabia and Iraq: In January 1991 that western allied forces by leading America attacked to Iraq from the north east of Saudi Arabia, Iraq canceled all its international contacts that were issued with Saudi Arabia from 1968. This action of Iraq consisted the border agreements of 1975 and 1981. Saudi Arabia in the summer 1991 submitted all its documents of border treaties with Iraq in the United Nations organization. While this country because of its land claims that has on the Persian Gulf's sheikhdoms in order to expansionism policy, it never likes to settlement the border disputes with them but in the case of Iraq, because the fear of Saddam expansionism, it became pioneer to recognize the past treaties.
The disputes of Qatar and Bahrain: Mutual claims of Bahrain and Qatar toward the possession of Hawar islands is the greatest disputes that put two countries in the limen of perfect war in 1986. Finally this subject was referred to the international court of justice. This court eventually in 2001 send out its verdict about territorial disputes between the two countries. But border disputes again in 2010 was heated. In this dispute although territorial expansionism trends between the two neighbors toward some parts of each other's soil were clear, but the strategic situation of tourist islands of Hawar that have oil resources, have had the most influence in creation of disputes between the two countries.
The border and territorial disputes in the Persian Gulf in high level are being seen. The presence of European colonialists specially the British that handled the region from the early nineteenth century and appointed all the borders of the region in line with their imperialist benefits, has a great influence in creation of these disputes. After 1971 that Britain left the Persian Gulf, border and territorial disputes between the region's states started and leaded to numerous conflicts. Most of these disputes are remained up to now. There are some factors that impede consensus between the countries of the region to form an eventual and stable solution for settlement the border disputes. But the reason of this article is stressing on the two important and effective factors in this context that one of them is expansionism trend among the Arab countries in the Persian Gulf's zone and another is the strategic situation of the conflicts areas in terms of oil discovery and military situation. Saudi Arabia and Iraq and partly less, other sheikhdoms are the objective examples in this field. So, aggression of Saudi Arabia to Yemen and occupancy of Asir area, military aggression to Abu Dhabi and Oman and occupation of Borimi area, transgression to Qatar and occupation the south of this country and its territorial greed toward Kuwait are arisen from this policy. Although Saudi Arabia prefers to actualize its policy by regional convergence, but in several cases, using vigor and military force shows its powerful expansionism leanings. Also Iraq's aggression to its neighbors in Saddam era can be evaluated in the form of Baghdad's expansionism policies because of queering in geopolitical – strategic straits and economical profits such as: seizing the oil's income of Kuwait and Iran's Khuzestan. These two factors with low and high intensity can be generalized to the otherPersian Gulf's sheikhdoms.