NORTHERN PROVINCE, 10 December 2002 — Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council states have decided to reinforce their joint military by increasing men and equipment and by bolstering land and air defense systems, Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, announced here yesterday.

“The Peninsular Shield has a great future,” the prince said, referring to the joint force comprising units from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

The prince’s remarks came in an extempore speech after he and Bahrain’s Crown Prince Sheikh Salman jointly opened the facilities of air ambulance planes and a mobile field hospital.

“We expect that the Peninsular Shield will remain a force of rectitude and peace,” the prince said. “Don’t get detracted by comments of spiteful and malevolent people who say there is a split in the force. It’s totally false,” he said.

“The Peninsular Shield is for self-defense,” Prince Sultan said. He urged the troops to uphold their mission of defending the faith and ensuring security of the region.

Prince Sultan and Sheikh Salman watched a military parade by units of the armed forces and the Peninsular Shield.

Earlier, Brig. Abdul Aziz Al-Majed, director of operation and maintenance at the medical services department of the armed forces, briefed Prince Sultan and Sheikh Salman on the air ambulance project.

Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Nafie, commander of the Northern Province, presented a gift to Sheikh Salman, who is also the general commander of Bahrain’s defense forces. Eastern Province Governor Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd, other princes and top civilian and military officers attended the function.

The Gulf Cooperation Council was formed in 1981 to confront security challenges facing the six member states. The immediate objective was to protect the member states from the threat posed by the Iran-Iraq war.

In 1984 the GCC defense ministers agreed on the creation of a two-brigade (10,000-man) Peninsular Shield force. This joint intervention force was based near King Khaled Military City at Hafr Al-Baten under the command of a Saudi officer.

In addition to a headquarters staff, the force consisted of one infantry brigade of about 5,000 men with units from all GCC states. It was apparently reinforced prior to the Gulf War in 1991 but did not take part in the war as a distinct unit.

GCC leaders signed a defense pact in December 2000 on the sidelines of a summit conference in Manama, expanding the rapid deployment force and establishing an early warning system, and agreeing on a project to link the GCC military headquarters.

Under the agreement, the Peninsular Shield will be enlarged to 22,000 troops in a bid to protect the Gulf states from possible outside attacks.

The agreement also stipulates that a telecommunications project estimated to cost $70 million would be established to link the military headquarters of the GCC countries. An $80 million project would also be set up to link the radar networks of the Gulf states.