West to Increase Its Forces in Gulf : Weinberger Indicates More Men, Warships Will Be Sent to Region

Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger said Tuesday that Western military power in the Persian Gulf will continue to grow, indicating that the United States and several other nations are planning to send additional warships and men to the troubled region.

Without naming specific countries, Weinberger suggested in an interview with The Times that other European nations--in addition to Britain and France, which already have dispatched six modern minesweepers and an aircraft carrier to the region--will soon be sending other military vessels to the gulf.

‘Increased Capabilities’

“I think that what we have now is sufficient to do what is required today, but that is by no means static or final,” Weinberger said. “The important thing is to have increased capabilities . . . in that area.”

Officials in the Netherlands are close to a decision to send several minesweepers to the region, Pentagon sources said, and Italy is debating whether to contribute to the gulf force. In addition to hinting that other European nations might be considering joining the force, Weinberger said that Japan might help finance the operation.

Japan, which gets almost two-thirds of its oil from the Persian Gulf, is prohibited by its constitution from operating a seagoing navy.

The United States has 47 Navy ships and 25,000 men in and around the gulf or steaming toward the region, according to Pentagon figures and independent estimates. The force includes an aircraft carrier, a battleship, a helicopter carrier and several amphibious assault ships carrying an estimated 1,800 Marines.

A second battle group based around the aircraft carrier Ranger is reportedly preparing to enter the region. And military sources said Tuesday that the battleship Iowa, stationed at Norfolk, Va., has been alerted to prepare for possible gulf duty.

In addition, the Navy is preparing to send five high-speed hydrofoil missile patrol boats from their port at Key West, Fla., to the gulf, sources said. The vessels could be used to intercept machine-gun-equipped Iranian speedboats that have been shadowing U.S. warships and commercial vessels in the gulf. Iran is suspected of using the speedboats to lay mines in the gulf and could be preparing to use them in suicide attacks on merchant ships or naval vessels.

Western Ships on Duty

The British have maintained warships in the gulf for several years to escort British-registered tankers halfway up the gulf to Bahrain. The French recently have stationed an aircraft carrier battle group in the North Arabian Sea south of the Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the 550-mile-long Persian Gulf.

Weinberger said that the massive Western naval buildup is designed to keep “international waters open and available for non-belligerent legal commerce,” particularly oil from Kuwait and other gulf states whose public position is one of neutrality. Tanker traffic in the gulf has been under air or naval attack from both sides in the nearly seven-year-old war between Iran and Iraq.

The United States last month began escorting convoys of Kuwaiti oil tankers, re-registered as American ships, through the gulf to protect them from attack by Iran, which has been angered by Kuwait’s quiet support for Iraq in the war. The Administration contends that the mission is designed to underscore U.S. determination to keep open international sea lanes in the region.

‘Increased Capabilities’

Weinberger said there is no multinational agreement yet to coordinate Western military activities in the gulf. “It doesn’t have to be a group under American command. It doesn’t even have to be a joint command,” the defense secretary said. “The important thing is to have increased capabilities . . . in that area. And I think that’s taking place.”

Weinberger also said that the United States is grateful for military assistance from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and a number of small states along the western shore of the gulf. He would not name any Arab countries that have contributed port facilities, air bases, fuel or other support for the Western armada.

“We have a dilemma there because we can’t discuss that in any detail or accuracy without losing it,” Weinberger said. If such aid were to become public, he implied, it could make those nations a target of Iranian terrorism or internal subversion.

Terror Risk Cited

Despite the potential for direct military conflict between Western forces and Iran, the greatest risk in the region remains Iranian or Iranian-sponsored terrorism, the secretary said. He said that warships and warplanes are not able to deter such attacks, nor were they sent there for that purpose.

“The ships are there to get international non-belligerent commerce in and out of international waters. And that’s what is being done. The risk to that mission are mines, small boats, some air (attacks),” Weinberger said, adding that he believes that the Navy is capable of coping with such threats. “The risks of international terrorism and terrorist acts by Iran are permanent.”

Weinberger said the Administration is not considering invoking the War Powers Resolution, which requires the President to seek congressional approval whenever U.S. forces are placed in situations involving “imminent” hostilities.

“We don’t believe that hostilities are imminent, but that is not to say that there aren’t threats of individual terrorist-type activities. We don’t think the War Powers Act applies,” he said.