gutro
10-19-2010, 02:20 PM
Canadian troops to pull out from Dubai military base early over disagreement
BY MEAGAN FITZPATRICK AND TOBI COHEN, POSTMEDIA NEWS OCTOBER 7, 2010 COMMENTS (6)
OTTAWA — Canadian troops will be pulling out early from a not-so-secret military base in the United Arab Emirates after failing to reach an agreement with the government there for its continued use.
Camp Mirage in Dubai has been an important staging ground for the Canadian Forces mission in Afghanistan but it's also become a pawn in a dispute over access to Canada's airspace.
The UAE has been lobbying Ottawa to get additional landing rights for its two major commercial airlines and it's previously been reported that there is a link between those efforts and Canada's lease for the Middle East military base. Its existence is supposed to be kept under wraps for national security reasons, but Camp Mirage is a poorly kept secret.
Government officials would not confirm the end of Canada's lease agreement with the UAE, saying they don't comment on operational matters, but sources said the options to renew it were too expensive and not in Canada's interest.
Simultaneously, the UAE government issued a statement Thursday indicating negotiations over expanding the number of flights to Canada have broken down.
"The UAE is disappointed that despite intensive negotiations over the last few months the UAE and Canada have been unable to arrive at an agreement on expanding the number of flights between the two countries," the UAE ambassador to Canada, Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ghafli, wrote.
While his statement said the UAE "values its strong relationship with Canada," it also hinted at a strain in diplomatic relations.
"It is unfortunate that this process has been so protracted and frustrating," he wrote. "The UAE entered negotiations in good faith on the understanding that a solution would be reached and that constructive ideas would be brought to the negotiating table. The fact that this has not come about will only negatively impact the populations and economies of both countries."
The two airlines, Emirates and Etihad Airways, currently fly three times a week to Toronto and want to add other Canadian destinations such as Calgary and Vancouver.
The Canadian government has resisted the pressure, explaining that it's not in Canada's commercial interest to allow for the expansion, and that the current number of flights satisfactorily meet the demand.
Air Canada has been a strong opponent of the expansion. In a speech last week to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the airline's president and CEO, Calin Rovinescu, said it "would be a defeat for Canada" to give in to the UAE pressure.
"It is well-known in our industry that these state-owned and subsidized carriers are pushing hard to capture and divert as much global flow as possible to Dubai and elsewhere in the region even if the point-to-point market between the two countries is very thin," he said, according to a copy of the speech obtained by Postmedia News.
With no agreement on the airlines and no agreement on the use of the military base in Dubai, diplomatic relations between the UAE and Canada appear to have hit roadblocks.
It is not clear when Canada will remove all of its equipment and personnel from Camp Mirage, but it could be within weeks. Use of the base would have been wound down anyway after the end of Canada's military involvement in the Afghanistan mission in 2011 but the early exit will force the military to speed up the pullout process and use alternative bases in the region. Canada has already been making increased use of a base in Cyprus.
"The government of Canada is fully capable of supporting its military commitment in Afghanistan," a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said. "Of course the government will choose arrangements that are in the best interest of Canadians," Catherine Loubier said.
Military analysts say logistically it would have been ideal to keep the deal for Camp Mirage going for just another year.
"It would be easier for the Canadian Forces to keep the arrangements they've got at Mirage because we've been there for years and it's a good setup," Ret. Col. Alain Pellerin, executive director of the Conference of Defence Associations, said.
BY MEAGAN FITZPATRICK AND TOBI COHEN, POSTMEDIA NEWS OCTOBER 7, 2010 COMMENTS (6)
OTTAWA — Canadian troops will be pulling out early from a not-so-secret military base in the United Arab Emirates after failing to reach an agreement with the government there for its continued use.
Camp Mirage in Dubai has been an important staging ground for the Canadian Forces mission in Afghanistan but it's also become a pawn in a dispute over access to Canada's airspace.
The UAE has been lobbying Ottawa to get additional landing rights for its two major commercial airlines and it's previously been reported that there is a link between those efforts and Canada's lease for the Middle East military base. Its existence is supposed to be kept under wraps for national security reasons, but Camp Mirage is a poorly kept secret.
Government officials would not confirm the end of Canada's lease agreement with the UAE, saying they don't comment on operational matters, but sources said the options to renew it were too expensive and not in Canada's interest.
Simultaneously, the UAE government issued a statement Thursday indicating negotiations over expanding the number of flights to Canada have broken down.
"The UAE is disappointed that despite intensive negotiations over the last few months the UAE and Canada have been unable to arrive at an agreement on expanding the number of flights between the two countries," the UAE ambassador to Canada, Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ghafli, wrote.
While his statement said the UAE "values its strong relationship with Canada," it also hinted at a strain in diplomatic relations.
"It is unfortunate that this process has been so protracted and frustrating," he wrote. "The UAE entered negotiations in good faith on the understanding that a solution would be reached and that constructive ideas would be brought to the negotiating table. The fact that this has not come about will only negatively impact the populations and economies of both countries."
The two airlines, Emirates and Etihad Airways, currently fly three times a week to Toronto and want to add other Canadian destinations such as Calgary and Vancouver.
The Canadian government has resisted the pressure, explaining that it's not in Canada's commercial interest to allow for the expansion, and that the current number of flights satisfactorily meet the demand.
Air Canada has been a strong opponent of the expansion. In a speech last week to the International Civil Aviation Organization, the airline's president and CEO, Calin Rovinescu, said it "would be a defeat for Canada" to give in to the UAE pressure.
"It is well-known in our industry that these state-owned and subsidized carriers are pushing hard to capture and divert as much global flow as possible to Dubai and elsewhere in the region even if the point-to-point market between the two countries is very thin," he said, according to a copy of the speech obtained by Postmedia News.
With no agreement on the airlines and no agreement on the use of the military base in Dubai, diplomatic relations between the UAE and Canada appear to have hit roadblocks.
It is not clear when Canada will remove all of its equipment and personnel from Camp Mirage, but it could be within weeks. Use of the base would have been wound down anyway after the end of Canada's military involvement in the Afghanistan mission in 2011 but the early exit will force the military to speed up the pullout process and use alternative bases in the region. Canada has already been making increased use of a base in Cyprus.
"The government of Canada is fully capable of supporting its military commitment in Afghanistan," a spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said. "Of course the government will choose arrangements that are in the best interest of Canadians," Catherine Loubier said.
Military analysts say logistically it would have been ideal to keep the deal for Camp Mirage going for just another year.
"It would be easier for the Canadian Forces to keep the arrangements they've got at Mirage because we've been there for years and it's a good setup," Ret. Col. Alain Pellerin, executive director of the Conference of Defence Associations, said.