“There are no expectations or planning to increase the number of assigned personnel to Bahrain,” he said.
The US military is present in most Gulf Arab countries, acting to guarantee security, but this has been controversial. Washington removed personnel from Saudi Arabia in 2003 after their presence was seen as antagonising Al Qaeda.
Commercial operations at Bahrain’s Mina Salman port, where the Navy is already operating, ended in April when they were transferred to Khalifa bin Salman port.
A spokesman for the Fifth Fleet said the US Navy had signed an agreement with Bahrain’s government on the lease of 70 acres of waterfront property at Mina Salman in January 2008 and is now finalising a date to formally occupy the area.
The Fleet has just over one acre at the port and some 42 acres at its base in Bahrain’s capital Manama. There are about 3,500 US sailors based in Bahrain, which is the home port for 16 US Navy ships.
The new pier space had already been used by Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower that visited the port on May 16. Bahrain is a close ally of the United States and also has strong ties with neighbouring Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.
Youths in Shia villages in Sunni-ruled Bahrain have protested recently over discrimination in jobs and services, a claim government officials deny.
