مجموعة ١٧٠/٣٠ "مسألة ملكية جزيرتي البيّنة." [و‎‎٢‎٤] (٢٥٩/٥٠)

Cqjul.'Io /no
FILE COPY .,
j v/ L ' - ^ *
Special Mr Hail.
Confide ntial.
D.0.FC.98-S.
“T ^
(.Gofrl & F-0.0*4
^ NOV 19 fi\ kdrvuj^Mz^
1 ",?»'" —fg ... £•&•(/. z,% m ■ .
ilie riesidercj 7 ’,
BiaAL
.bushire, the 18th October, l94i«
t o j 4
19 41
My dear Peel,
I am sending yom a copy of Alban’s demi-official
letter Ho.K/37, dated the 30th August 1941, and its enclosures,
blybb in continuation of my telegram No.181, dated the 16th October
194i, regarding drilling by the Bahrain Petroleum Company
on certain reefs.
2. I cannot explain why Belgrave took it upon himself
to sanction drilling which he must have realised was beyond
his powers end trenching on international politics, and 1
have sent him an official reprimand through ^Iban. Little
blame can attach to Kennedy, who v/as of course only a stop
gap, and quite inexperienced in these matters.
3. There is little to add to my telegram beyond comment
ing on the remark in Belgrave's Memorandum No.C/l58l-2C
dated the 18th August 1941 to the Political Agent at
Bahrain in which he quotes the Shaikhs as being of the
opinion that Fasht Abu Saafa v/as recognised as being one
of the Bahrain diving anchorages *in the same way as Fasht
al Jarim and Fasht al Dibal are known to be Bahrain
anchorages’. Fasht al Dibal is not in any sense peculiarly
a Bahrain anchorage and is freely utilised by all pearlers
in this neighbourhood. When l was Political Agent at
Bahrain neither the Shaikhs nor Belgrave had any idea
of claiming it, or pretended that it v/as theirs, and
/ ^
R.T.Peel Esquire, C.B.B.,M.C.,
The India Office,
London.
POL.
OEPr.
15 NQV 5941
INDIA
OF^CE