Page 323 - UAE Truncal States

Chapter Eight

throat of naval attack. The authorities became increasingly intoler­
ant of any type of warfare between coastal Rulers, whether declared
or spontaneous. There are many instances of British diplomatic,
military, and economic intervention after the turn of the century, as
in the disputes between HTrah, 'Ajman, and Sharjah, between Rams
and Ra’s al Khaimah, and between Fujairah and Kalba.
During the late 1920s the British authorities realised that peace
upon the waters of the Gulf did not suffice; the strips of coastal
territory themselves became objects of British interest in the area
because of the necessity to establish land bases for military and civil
aircraft en route between India and England. Refuelling facilities for
RAF Wapiti seaplanes were sought, and the best site, the creek of
Ra’s al Khaimah, was selected. As mentioned above, the Ruler,
Sultan bin Salim, proved unco-operative; his anti-British attitude
had already manifested itself in his refusal in 1926 to surrender
'Abdul Rahman of Hlrah,01 and it was suspected that he was
supported in his altitude by the Wahhabi Governor of al Hasa.
Despite pressure from his own people and other Rulers, he continued
to object to the presence of a refuelling barge which was pul in the
creek in 1929. The air route along the Arabian shore was eventually
established, but, as an added precaution, another refuelling facility
was built on the island of Sir Bani Yas, towards the western end of
the coast of Abu Dhabi State. In 1933, the RAF required more
elaborate facilities and the establishment of a better fuel depot; also,
the buoys which they wanted to place in the creek to mark the
landing area could only be maintained if the local Ruler was willing
to co-operate. The Rulers of Dubai and Abu Dhabi were approached
but both shunned the idea al first, fearing serious repercussions from
some of their tribal subjects, who objected strongly to receiving
British aircraft on their land. Eventually both Rulers were ready to
make compromises, and in January 1934 the first military seaplane
landed on the creek in Dubai, while an emergency landing-place was
made available at Abu Dhabi.
The civilian aircraft of Imperial Airways also needed an airstrip
somewhere on the Trucial Coast after the agreement with thePersian
Government for a route along the northern shore of the Gulf expired
in 1932. Several Rulers were approached for this civil air link, but
Sultan bin Saqr of Sharjah actually offered the facilities in 1932,
partly because he hoped to obtain a handsome annual remuneration.
In the agreement, which was reached on 22 June 1932, it was

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