by MAWADDA ISKANDAR
Despite their public portrayal as close allies, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi are, at best, ‘frenemies,’ engaging in ferocious competition for regional and economic dominance. Now, their territorial dispute over Al-Yasat has entered the international realm, with a formal UN complaint filed by the Saudis.
A significant strain in relations may be brewing between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.
An official document released on the UN website dated 28 March 2024 reveals a complaint filed by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs against the UAE concerning a longstanding territorial dispute over the Yasat area.
Specifically, the complaint addresses the UAE Emiri Decree No. 4 of 2019, which designates Al-Yasat as a protected maritime area. According to the UN memorandum, Saudi Arabia contests the decree, declaring it “contrary to international law.”
Saudi Arabia also reiterated its position, refusing to acknowledge any actions or measures undertaken by the UAE in the maritime zone adjacent to Saudi territorial waters, including the shared sovereign area and the islands of Makasib and Al-Qafai.
Although disputes between Saudi Arabia and the UAE regularly crop up in the region’s media, they tend not to impact formal diplomatic relations between the two Persian Gulf states. But this one, contested territory, looks to be different.
The roots of the dispute
The disagreement’s origins trace back to the UAE’s formative years in the twentieth century. Amid territorial disputes over control and expansion among the area’s ruling tribes, the late founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahyan, sought recognition from neighboring states following the country’s independence from Britain in 1971.
A pivotal moment in these boundary negotiations was the 1974 Treaty of Jeddah. The deal marked a compromise in which Riyadh relinquished claims to the Al-Rimi area – rich in oil and located between Oman and the UAE – in exchange for other territories, including the oil-rich Shaybah field.
This field has since become a focal point of contention between the two states.
Al-Yasat is a marine reserve of great ecological and historical significance, located near Abu Dhabi’s southernmost point. The area hosts a diverse ecosystem, including over 200 species of fish, 40 species of coral, and 13 species of marine mammals.
The area also bears historical importance for its archaeological sites and has acquired a cultural status linked to the pearling sites scattered within its waters.
During the existing border disputes of that period, the nascent Persian Gulf emirate sought recognition from its surroundings and turned to Saudi Arabia for help. The UAE’s founders were subsequently forced to abandon a 50-kilometer strip of coastline separating the UAE and Qatar.
But the 2004 accession of Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan (KbZ) to leadership marked a notable shift in the country’s stance on these longstanding issues. The new emir viewed the Jeddah Agreement as inequitable, forged under duress, and prioritized renegotiating it during his first visit to Riyadh in 2005. Since then, matters have not been resolved; they’ve only worsened.
Evolution of disagreement
With his efforts at an impasse, KbZ declared Al-Yasat an Emirati-protected area by Emiri Decree No. 33 in January 2005. The area comprises the sub-island, the Greater and Lesser Yasat Islands, Karsha, Essam, and the surrounding waters, to be administered by the Environment Agency in Abu Dhabi.
In 2006, the dispute intensified, with the UAE releasing new maps showing Saudi territory as part of the UAE. In an attempt to impose a fait accompli, the maps included Khor al-Udeid as part of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, extending the boundaries in the Empty Quarter to 80 percent of the Shaybah field owned by the UAE.
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