ABU DHABI Ñ Oman and the United Arab Emirates, fresh from their
agreement to delineate their border, are examining a proposal to establish a
joint border control center.
Gulf defense sources said the joint border control centers would help
prevent the smuggling of weapons and drugs through their huge frontier. The
two countries have a joint border that spans about 1,000 kilometers.
The sources said the UAE would benefit particularly from joint border
control centers. Currently, they said, the UAE does not have any outposts
along the Omani border. They said this has created a huge smuggling route
into the emirates that has been used by Islamic insurgents.
[On Monday, the London-based A-Sharq Al Awsat reported that the son of
Osama Bin Laden has taken over Al Qaida. The report said the successon by
Saad Bin Laden lends credence to reports that his father was killed in U.S.
bombings in Afghanistan.]
The open UAE border has also allowed fugitives in Oman to escape into
the emirates and leave the Persian Gulf by air or sea. But the sources said
neither country plans to use the proposal for joint border points to reduce
the traffic of people and goods along the Omani-UAE border. They said both
countries plan to ensure that the border becomes one of the most open in the
Gulf region.
In an unrelated development, Oman's military has completed an 11-month
training course for officers. The course ended with a war simulation
exercise meant to examine the command skills of the cadets.
