File 1247/1912 Pt 1 'Turkey:- Communication to Turkish Govt of agreement between Gt. Britain and Koweit, Bahrein & Trucial Chiefs. Decorations for Sheiks of Koweit, Mohammerah & Bahrein in connection with Anglo-Turkish Convention.' [‎171v] (262/336)

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fnr,n!liv W w d t f, ! rtherlnore be , necessary for the Ottoman Government to undertake
of His ifSty\ Gove^mnlt ^ ntl Shipping " Carg ° eS "' ithout the assent
lliere remains the question of the terminal port: having regard to the foot thnt
imporlant commercial interests are already established at HusS, hlL Hajest^
rovernment cannot but feel that substantial advantages would accrue from the
t le ten T? 1 at that poiut; and they consider that the port should
i, constructed and controlled by the proposed new company in the interests of the
unrestricted commerce of all nations. But if such an airangement 1^00^ they
mist stipulate that, in the event of the railway ever being prolonged to the Persian
l.ulf, it must be brought to Koweit under conditions to be settled by agreement
between Great Britain and Turkey alone, and a clause to this effect must be embodied
m a convention dealing with these matters.
(ii.) The respective Interests of (treat Britain and Turkey in the Region of the
Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
nard^blT/ct,’ 8 ^"iment are willing to meet the wish expressed in the concluding
paia raphs of the Turkish memorandum that a precise definition may be reached as
I’erVau 1 p Sp , e f ct, '’ e po . s * tlon of the tvvo countries, commercially and politically, in the
I eisian Gulf; and they see no reason why a lasting settlement of the questions
iiivo veil should not be reached. His Majesty’s Government are in no sense opposed
u-hiVl?tb S1 H mJte claims of tbe Turkish Government. The most southerly point to
Oiefr inTbl‘ a H :e i eV f SU o Ch ? Iairns 011 the littoral of t!l c Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. is
J , the district of El Katit. South of this point there is no trace of Turkish
Afflf" ever a" g been ^paramount; in 1870 the Ottoman Minister for Foreign
IWm lT U e ;' e< t t V lIer Maj . esty s Ambassador formal assurances that the Sublime
nr the iuH e . nte t r iU l 1 an y intention of obtaining supremacy over Bahrein, Muscat,
dLe h ib^ d P f- d *r nbe f °v the r 0ast0f *6 Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; and it is only since that
1 e tll ‘ lt certain attempts have been made by the Ottoman Government to establish
mudirates and other emblems of Turkish authority at points to the south of Ojeir.
. i le ,Pp? sltl ° n °^ 7 11 1 ls Majesty’s Government in regard to these tribes has lieen
entirely different. With Bahrein they have had direct relations since 1805; these
leJations have found concrete expression in a series of treaties dating from 1820 and
JiaMiig as their objects the suppression of piracy and the slave trade ; the regularitv
of the successor to the throne ; the protection of the island against foreign aggression-
and the safety of the pearl industry, of which Bahrein is the centre. In Muscat
anc ic emtoiies of the 1 racial Chiefs His Majesty’s Government have, in virtue
o \auous treaties and agreements, conferred similar benefits for many years: and
len po icy in each case has been inspired by the importance of upholding the
maritime peace, of securing open markets to the commerce of all countries and
of protecting the long-established interests of British-Indian subjects.
His Majesty s Government cannot acquiesce in any arrangement which ini<>ht
res net or undermine the authority which they have exercised uninterruptedly
\\1 1 suci beneficent results; they conceive that any extension of Turkish jurisdiction
along the littoral of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. to the south of Ojeir would be prejudicial to
those results and unsupported by any legitimate claims of Turkish sovereignty; and
t ie\ have accordingly resisted any attempts which have been made to encroach upon
these regions. They are therefore of opinion that any lasting settlement between
1G ^ ? T> 0 i Ver - S must for the definite renunciation by the Ottoman Govern-
meni of Bahrein and adjacent islands and of the whole of the Peninsula of El Katr
(me udmg El Bidaa), where the Sheikh of Bahrein has important rights; and they
(onsn ei that such a settlement would finally remove a perennial source of local
friction.
I he Ottoman Government express a wish to regularise the relations of Koweit
towards the Ottoman Empire, and His Majesty’s Government will gladly contribute
to such a solution, on the understanding that their rights and claims are not to be
regarded as prejudiced by any proposals which may now be put forward, should such
proposals prove abortive.
As the Ottoman Government are aware, His Majesty’s Government have never
admitted that Koweit is under Turkish protection, and, inasmuch as some divergence
oi opinion was manifested between the two Governments as to the position there a
modus mvendi was reached in September 1901 by His Majesty’s Government conseAt-
mg to give an assurance that, provided the Turkish Government abstained from