'Muscat: 1908-1928' [‎47r] (15/18)

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required ” (i.e. at the mouth of the Gulf) “ should not be either at Bunder
Abbas or on the adjacent islands, but on the Ras Musandim promontory or
the Arabian shore. There would otherwise be risk of our being driven by
military force from our necessary naval base. Moreover, the only anchorages
which can be trusted are on the Arabian shore.”
67. Almost simultaneously the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. had suggested that
it might be desirable to choose Ras Musandim as a site for a lighthouse in
preference to Little Quoin,* and the Government of India, in the light of the
expression of the views of the Admiralty quoted above, were prepared to
agree to the substitution “ apart from the considerarions arising from the
Anglo-French Declaration of ]862.”t
68. In April 1913 the Government of India reported that the Director,
Royal Indian Marine, saw technical objections to the selection of Musandim
as the site for a lighthouse on the grounds that “ thick weather over
Musandim is the rule rather than the exception . . . further . . . worst
tides experienced anywhere in the Gulf and its approaches are found round
Musandim Island.”t
69. In May the Admiralty expressed the view that “ while a naval base
on the Musandim Peninsula would theoretically be in a somewhat better
strategical position for the control of a railway passing along the northern
shore of the entrance to the Gulf, if threatened by a hostile advance from
the north-west, practical considerations point rather for the present to the use of
Henjam . . . with Basidu as a subsidiary base. It does not appear necessary
to contemplate the actual fortification of a naval base in this region so long
as we retain the command of the sea in Eastern waters.Ӥ This disposed
of the question of a station on Musandim; and it was agreed that the
lighthouse in contemplation should be erected on Little Quoin as being
preferable from the strictly navigational standpoint.
70. There appear to have been no developments until in February 1927
the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. || indicated that Khassab was of value, not merely in
connection with the air route, on which it would constitute a jumping off
ground for Gwadur on the Makran coast, but for strategical reasons, since
“ the country possessing it can practically command egress from and ingress
to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .” Sir L. Haworth therefore favoured the purchase of
Khassab from Muscat, possibly for about £12,000, and the establishment
of “a Gibraltar at the head of the Gulf.” He regarded this as practicable
vis-a-vis France, in view of the right of pre-emption enjoyed by His
Majesty’s Government under the Exclusive Agreement of 1891.
71. No views have been expressed on the subject by the Government of
India. With the Persian challenge to the position of His Majesty’s Govern
ment in Basidu and Henjam the possibility of establishing, if not a fortified
base, at any rate a station, in the Musandim Peninsula or on one of the
adjoining islands, on two of which (Telegraph Island and Sheep Island) the
British Hag has for a short period been hoisted in the past, becomes of more
immediate importance. But, financial and strategical considerations apart,
the extent to which His Majesty’s Government are free agents vis a-vis
France, who, though aware of, is not a party to, and has never formally
recognised, the Exclusive Agreement of 1891, will call for careful examina
tion before a decision can be taken.
(c) The Cession of Gwadur.
72. It was decided in 1863 after exhaustive examination that no attention
need or could be paid to the claims to Gwadur, a dependency of Muscat in
Makran, on the Persian littoral of the Gulf, of the Khan of Kalat or of
the Gitchkis. This decision was reaffirmed by the Government of India
in 1928.^f
73. The question of its retransfer to Kalat at a price was raised by the
Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Muscat, in 1921, when the financial situation of Muscat was
critical, but the Government of India were instructed** that no overtures
should be made to the Sultan of Muscat without prior reference to His
Majesty’s Government, and the matter dropped.
* Tel. from Pol.
Res. to G. of I.,
Jan. 3 1913, P. 700.
t Tel. from Viceroy
to S. of S. for I.,
Mar. 12 1913, P. 951.
J Tel. from Viceroy
lo S. of S. for I.,
April 26 1913,
P. 1663.
§ Admiralty to
F.O.. May 1 1913,
P. 1733/28.
jIDesp. i from Pol.
Res. to G. of I.,
Feb. 19 1927,
P. 1575.
Letter from G.
of T. to A.G.G.
Baluchistan, July 18
1928, P. 4140/28.
** Tel. 1176 from
S. of S. for I. to
Viceroy, Sept. 1
1920 ; Viceroy to S.
of S. for I., 1182 S.,
Oct. 9 1920,
P. 6271, 7513.