US boosts Bahrain ties with new security agreement

 

The United States on Wednesday signed an agreement with Bahrain to enhance defense and economic ties, a show of support for the Gulf monarchy that a decade ago faced an arms embargo.

Bahrain -- which has tense relations with nearby Iran -- is already home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet, but the agreement will solidify the relationship both symbolically and by boosting cooperation, including through a commitment to share intelligence.

The agreement will allow "us to even better determine or respond to threats as they arise," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said before a signing ceremony with Bahrain's crown prince, Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa.

"The heart of the agreement is a shared goal -- working together to build a region that is more secure, more prosperous and that's more connected to the world," Blinken said.

Dubbed the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement, the deal will also promote scientific exchanges, investment opportunities and work on renewable energy.

In what Blinken billed as a first-of-a-kind measure, the agreement will commit the two countries to work together on "trusted technologies" -- an allusion to avoiding providers, often from China, seen by the United States as potentially unsafe.

The agreement will focus "not only on security and defense, which is essential, but also on the economy, on people and on technology, which will be the foundation for a new global architecture," Prince Khalifa said.

Bahrain came under criticism in 2011 when, backed by fellow Sunni kingdom Saudi Arabia, it crushed an uprising led by the Shiite community that demanded a constitutional monarchy and an elected prime minister.

Then president Barack Obama imposed an arms embargo for four years. Bahrain returned to US good graces under former president Donald Trump, who hailed Bahrain's recognition of Israel.

Blinken said the United States would raise with the kingdom the issue of human rights with a goal of "ensuring that fundamental freedoms are protected, which contributes to Bahrain's progress."

The government and activists on Tuesday reported an end to a prison hunger strike that involved at least 800 inmates and lasted 36 days, following an offer to improve conditions.

US approves  sale of F-35 jets to South Korea

The United States on Wednesday approved a $5 billion sale to South Korea of F-35s, top-of-the-line fighter-jets with stealth capacity, as tensions soar with North Korea.

The State Department informed Congress that it had given the green light to the sale of 25 of the aircraft made by Lockheed Martin as well as engines and related equipment.

The sale "will improve the Republic of Korea's capability to meet current and future threats by providing credible defense capability to deter aggression in the region and ensure interoperability with US forces," a State Department statement said.

"The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region," it said.

South Korea has operated F-35s since 2018. The United States only approves sale of the jets to its closest partners, with Turkey booted from the F-35 program after a major purchase from Russia of a missile defense system.

The sale comes as tensions keep spiraling with North Korea, which carried out its latest missile tests just as leader Kim Jong Un visited Russia to discuss greater weapons cooperation with President Vladimir Putin.

The United States has stepped up three-way cooperation with Japan and South Korea, allies that are home to US troops but were frequently at odds over historical disputes until overtures by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

At a summit last month at the Camp David presidential resort near Washington, President Joe Biden, Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised to work more closely together on North Korea and other challenges.