Qatar again complains Bahrain for penetrating its territorial waters

DOHA, Jan. 01 (YPA) – Qatar informed the UN Security Council that Bahraini military naval boats penetrated its territorial waters on November 25, 2020, calling for “an end to the tendentious Bahraini violations.”

This is for the second time in less than two weeks, amid accelerated steps to end the Gulf crisis.

This came in a letter sent by the permanent representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations, Ambassador Alia Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, to the President of the Security Council in its current session, South African Jerry Matjela, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres.

The letter affirmed that “the illegal entry of the Bahraini military boats into the territorial waters of the State of Qatar without a permit constitutes a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar and a threat to its security.”

It considered that the occurrence of this maritime breach, in addition to an air breach that occurred on December 9, 2020, “increases tension and indicates the disregard of the Kingdom of Bahrain for its obligations under international law.”

In the conclusion of the letter, Qatar affirmed its keenness to “strengthen good-neighborly relations and to exercise a policy of restraint towards these irresponsible, provocative and repeated behavior that it is exposed to.”

At the same time, the letter stressed that Qatar reserves its “legitimate sovereign right to take all necessary legal measures to defend its borders, airspace and national security in accordance with international laws and controls.”

This is not the first complaint of its kind. On the 24th of last month, Doha informed the Security Council, in a similar letter, of four Bahraini fighters violating Qatari airspace.

YPA