via: Stars and Stripes/AP
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The United
Arab Emirates has issued a law requiring compulsory military service for
adult males, formalizing a proposal outlined earlier in the year to
bolster the ranks of the U.S.-allied Gulf federation's armed forces.
The official state news agency WAM
announced the move Saturday, saying the law "aims to instill values of
loyalty and sacrifice in the hearts of the citizens."
The legislation requires male high school
graduates between the ages of 18 and 30 to serve nine months. Those
without a high school diploma must serve two years. Military service for
Emirati women will be voluntary.
The seven-state federation, formed in 1971
after decades under British protection, has been spared the political
unrest that has roiled much of the Middle East in recent years.
It has longstanding cultural and trade
links to Iran but nonetheless remains wary of its powerful neighbor,
which boasts a larger military and possesses significant stockpiles of
missiles in range of the Emirates. Both countries claim sovereignty over
three islands in the Persian Gulf that are occupied by Iran.
The UAE military currently has an estimated
51,000 active-duty personnel, according to the International Institute
for Strategic Studies.
Emirati citizens are vastly outnumbered by
foreign guest workers in their own country, and the UAE military and
police forces include foreigners in their ranks. The country's leaders
have taken steps to get more nationals into public and private-sector
jobs, including in the military.
In recent years, UAE troops have joined the NATO-led mission to Afghanistan and provided humanitarian relief to Pakistan. 
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