US embassy cable - 04ABUDHABI1987

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 001987 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR NEA/ARP AND NEA/NGA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/15/2014 
TAGS: PREL, MOPS, IR, TC 
SUBJECT: UAE downplays recent fishing boat seizures 
 
Ref: Abu Dhabi 1881 
 
Classified by Ambassador Marcelle M. Wahba, reasons 
1.5 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: Abu Dhabi Deputy Crown Prince and UAE 
Armed Forces Chief of Staff Shaykh Mohamed bin Zayed 
(MbZ) downplayed the significance of recent seizures 
of Iranian and UAE fishing boats by each of their 
coast guard forces.  Seizures of fishing and smuggling 
boats by both sides are relatively common, he told the 
Ambassador during a visit to the Embassy to say 
farewell to her on June 15.  MbZ also said that the 
UAE was implementing a comprehensive system to 
register and track all UAE registered vessels to make 
it easier for the coast guard to distinguish incoming 
foreign vessels from afar.  End Summary. 
 
2. (C) Shaykh Mohamed told the Ambassador June 15 that 
the recent seizures of Iranian and UAE fishing and 
smuggling boats by both sides are relatively common. 
He said that the six fishing boats from the UAE and 
their 23 crew members seized June 13 had all been 
apprehended in Iranian waters and said that the UAEG 
did not view Iranian actions as inappropriate.  He 
said they were all owned by the same person, so the 
presence of the six boats in Iranian waters had 
resulted from one decision.  According to the English 
language daily "Gulf News" on June 16, the UAE boats 
were fishing near the Iranian island of Qeshm.  The 
newspaper also cited an Iranian state television 
report from June 15 that said Iran's navy had seized a 
UAE fishing vessel and its five crew near the Iranian 
island of Siri. 
 
3. (C) MbZ noted that last year the UAE Coast Guard 
had killed 9 Iranians in maritime incidents involving 
vessels that were fired upon or rammed for refusing to 
stop.  In 2002, 13 Iranians were killed. He said that 
these incidents have never escalated to the political 
level and have generally been dealt with quietly by 
consular officers handling the repatriation of bodies. 
Responding to the Ambassador's mention of media 
coverage of the recent seizures, MbZ said that what 
has changed is that the Iranian security chief on Abu 
Musa has blown the recent incidents out of proportion 
because one of the fishing crews apprehended in UAE 
waters was working for him.  He said the issue is 
about money, not sovereignty, and that is why both 
sides have an interest in managing it quietly. 
 
4. (C) MFA Under Secretary Abdullah Rashid Al-Noaimi 
also downplayed the incidents during the Ambassador's 
farewell call at his office on June 14.  "I would not 
say there has been an increase (in such seizures), but 
it has always been high," he said.  He added that the 
Iranians also fly surveillance aircraft "all the time" 
and these "approach our oil platforms."  He did not 
see anything suspicious in the latest reports of boats 
being seized.  The reason the UAE publicized the 
recent boat seizures is that the Iranians went public. 
He said the crews of the fishing vessels do not have 
GPS on board.  "They don't know where they're going." 
 
5. (C) We don't have further information on the number 
of Iranian and Emirati boats that have been detained 
in the past, or are currently being detained, by the 
two countries' naval forces.  However, an Embassy 
contact has told us that Iran has been detaining two 
UAE Coast Guard crews after alleged violation of 
Iranian territorial waters two months ago. 
Furthermore, we have reported that the UAE Coast Guard 
had seized an Iranian fishing boat that had entered 
territorial waters on June 2 (see reftel). 
 
Improved vessel registration system 
----------------------------------- 
 
6. (C) MbZ said that the UAE was implementing a 
comprehensive system to register and track all UAE 
registered vessels.  The system, expected to be 
operational by July 2005, would provide every UAE 
vessel with a bar code that could be monitored from 
afar by the coast guard.  All vessels, including 
dhows, are required to register by May 2005 or they 
will be prohibited from entering or departing UAE 
ports.  MbZ noted that the Qataris were impressed with 
the system and wanted to implement something 
compatible.  In this context, MbZ explained that he 
had separated the UAE Coast Guard from the Navy 
because their missions were different and the coast 
guard's critically important police and border control 
function was not getting the right attention under the 
Navy. 
Comment: 
------- 
7. (C) Seizures of fishing boats are normal at this 
time of year, according to senior UAEG officials. 
Each side is patrolling what it considers its economic 
exclusionary zone around the contested islands.  We 
have no evidence that these actions are in any way 
politically motivated. 
WAHBA