Territorial Disputes in The Persian Gulf - United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia

Two disputes exist between the two countries over the territorial waters claimed through the land owned by Saudi Arabia between Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. It is believed that the eastward side infringes into UAE territorial waters and has led to minor skirmishes between the two countries.

The second dispute lies in the unusual extent of these waters from the Saudi coastline which explains how the above area extends further than expected by the Emiratis and is justified by Saudi Arabia. While no map exist on the internet, it is believed a corridor exists along the Qatari/Emirati maritime boundary on the Qatari side extending up to the Iranian maritime boundary. This has been alluded to in documents submitted to the United Nations. It would be expected that Iran would also dispute any corridor directly linking them to Saudi Arabia.