In the event, the United Kingdom scrapped the Huawei plans, although the UAE still relies on the company for its communications needs. lawmakers to abandon plans to permanently station its own F-35As in the United Kingdom.
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That company has long been earmarked as a potential means for Beijing to conduct espionage or disrupt communications.Ĭoincidentally, it was British plans to have Huawei install communications infrastructure that led to calls from some U.S. Outside of military issues, there are broader concerns about the economic ties between China and the UAE, including the Emirati relationship with Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei Technologies. intelligence had become aware of at least two People’s Liberation Army aircraft arriving in the UAE to deliver unknown cargoes, presumed to be military in nature. In May this year, it was reported that U.S. Other signs of a military relationship between China and the UAE have also alarmed U.S. Earlier this year, it appears that Washington was forced to apply pressure on the Emiratis to ensure that China halted construction work on a secretive military facility in the UAE. Indeed, soon after taking office, President Joe Biden hit pause on the UAE arms deal but ultimately decided to go ahead with it, albeit with new caveats attached.Īs for the Chinese role in all this, the UAE’s relationship with Beijing has already been highlighted as a worry. Their concern is driven by different factors, including the erosion of Israel’s so-called “ qualitative military edge” in the Middle East and criticism of the UAE’s role in the civil war in Yemen and also in Libya. At the same time, industry and government are keen to push through a lucrative deal, despite opposition from some lawmakers in Washington. On the one hand, the security surrounding the F-35, and to a lesser extent the MQ-9, must remain sacrosanct, protecting one of the most important capabilities for the Pentagon and many allies. Washington now appears to be faced with a difficult balancing act. Possible evidence for that is the upcoming visit to the Pentagon by a UAE delegation, due this week, and the fact that the letter in question was written by a lower-ranking Emirati official. Or, as the WSJ surmises, the Emirati government could be seeking better terms by threatening to back out. While the UAE deal had previously been in limbo, it may now be dead in the water.
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