General James Mattis, Commander, US Central Command
Thank you Dr Chipman. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it is a real pleasure to be here and my thanks to the IISS for hosting this very important dialogue. I also have to thank Bahrain, our hosts, for keeping decades of a trusted relationship between our various forces out here and building trust that has gone far beyond this island nation. It is a privilege to join my fellow panellists, Minister Frattini and Minister Qirbi, and offer a few points to consider in our discussion.
The topic at hand is regional conflicts and outside powers. I think when some people talk of internal and external powers, they speak about geography and the differences between various cultures, but in the real world it is stability, a commitment to peace and the values underpinning our long‑term relationships that make us brothers and sisters, not outsiders. Ideas such as security and stability for all bind us together, peace and prosperity for all. These are universal, historically validated ideas that bind us together in ways unconstrained by physical boundaries and consistent with the lessons of history, when we study how stability can be sustained. These ideas are alien only for the intolerant, malign and deceitful. In the world of ideas geography and culture alone are insignificant when compared to alien messages, because we are more united in this world by universal values of respect and support for stability than we are divided by geography.
I suggest that today external powers are those outside the international norms; those that seek to use messages of intolerance and division to undermine efforts to establish long‑term peace and prosperity or threaten security or those that pursue destabilising activities. The real external powers are those that espouse the negative ideas that promote instability, no matter where those powers exist in the world. Any actions taken to weaken regional stability must only fortify the commitment of those here in this room to work together to preserve stability and to protect innocent lives.
It is imperative for nations committed to stability to offer each other support in the face of any powers working outside the world of time‑tested ideas or time‑honoured concepts supporting international norms. Growing partnerships to protect our shared ideas are evident in the emerging security landscape around us, characterised by the relentless engagement with each other in the dialogue emphasised by Minister Frattini earlier and strengthened by practical cooperation, for example the naval cooperation right here in this region. It provides a pragmatic model.
Earlier this week in the counter-piracy task force, to which Bahrain is a contributor, a Pakistani naval commodore took combined command of Task Force 151, formed to counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the waters off the coast of Somalia. The task force is comprised of maritime elements from Australia, Korea, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, the UK, the United States and others. The commodore from Pakistan took over from a Turkish rear admiral. He did so aboard a UK Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Cornwall, while the ship was in port in Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. This is a visible demonstration of the actions of those countries working together, committed to stability. None of us are alien to one another; in this case all of us are committed to freedom of navigation. It is an example of partnered, international, military operations contributing to better stability for all.
The United States Central Command stands with those nations that are unapologetic about contributing to stability, committed to supporting peace and prosperity in the region; nations that can leave behind a legacy of promoting stability and are open to traditional and non‑traditional security partnerships to build a brighter future. Such actions as we have taken together send a clear message and set conditions unfavourable to those acting outside international norms. This is a reality today that is removed from the obsolete bounds of geography. Earlier this morning His Excellency, Sheikh Khalid, the Foreign Minister of Bahrain, recognised the reality of a globally interdependent world, if we are to have peace.
In closing I recognise and appreciate the ongoing efforts in the region in which I have been involved since 1979 to bolster regional cooperation. The contribution of the Manama Dialogue to these efforts is also very important and I reiterate our long‑term commitment and support to our partners in this critical region that so many of us call simply home. Thank you very much ladies and gentlemen.
Dr John Chipman
General Mattis, thank you very much indeed.
