The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states have planned to launch a joint naval force, a top Kuwaiti defence official said, in a bid to protect waters shared with neighbouring Iran.

The new force is expected to be formed in the “coming months”, Major General Ahmad Yussef Al Mulla was quoted as saying by the official Kuna news agency, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE formed the Peninsula Shield force in 1982 as a 5,000-strong army.

Al Mulla said military officials were still working out details for the naval force, which will be organised in a similar way to the joint ground forces.

The force’s size will depend on the “level of external threats for marine security,” he said. - TradeArabia News Service