Kuwaiti ownership of Warba and Bubiyan Islands

Abstract

The islands of Warba and Bubiyan, lying on the head of the Arabian Gulf, emerged as strategically the most important sites at the beginning of this century owing to their location and the Ottoman designs on them. The islands once again drew the world's attention when on 2 August 1990 Iraq occupied Kuwait, including these two vital islands. The subsequent media campaign for handing over these islands to Iraq in return for an eventual withdrawal from Kuwait demand an historical investigation into the actual ownership of these two islands. This article is an attempt to discuss the factors that led to the Kuwaiti claims to the islands against the background of the proposed extension of the Baghdad railway project to the head of the Gulf. Kuwait's struggle for the ownership of these islands became a reality when in 1913 the Anglo-Ottoman Convention was signed and the Ottoman government renounced its claims on the country following the end of the First World War, which paved the way for a recognized boundary line between Iraq and Kuwait in 1923 and the reconfirmation of the said boundary in 1932 in the exchange of letters between the two countries.