How does the United States view China's construction of bases in the United Arab Emirates? | Instant World News

 

Is China really building a base in the United Arab Emirates?

US defense and intelligence officials believe that Chinese military personnel were present at a military base in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) because the US was denied access to a part of the base, two former senior US officials told Middle East Eye. The two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US believes that the UAE was hosting members of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) at Zayed Military City in Abu Dhabi. 

The officials said that US officials had suspected this around 2020. An official familiar with the matter said that when US officials sought access to a part of Zayed Military City, they were denied it. The US then began gathering more information about the base. 

Neither of the former officials would say how the US learned of the presence of Chinese military personnel or what their role was at the base. Both former US officials have expressed concern that the PLA may be using Zayed Military City to gather intelligence on US forces in the UAE. 

Al-Dhafra Air Base in the UAE is home to the US 380th Air Expeditionary Force and is located just 20 miles south of Abu Dhabi. A US official said US intelligence had learned that some East Asian countries had allowed the PLA to stay in their countries in exchange for financial assistance. 

The US matched this with the PLA’s presence at Zayed Military City in the UAE. There have been no previous reports of Chinese military activity at Zayed Military City in Abu Dhabi. A 2021 report in The Wall Street Journal stated that China was building a military port near Abu Dhabi. 

A few weeks after that report, another article claimed that the UAE had halted the project at the request of the US.

China and the United Arab Emirates

It is unclear whether PLA members are still at the base. The United States has repeatedly put pressure on China as it seeks to become closer to the United Arab Emirates militarily. There is also some tension between Washington and the United Arab Emirates over the issue. A report in The Wall Street Journal in 2021 mentioned that China was building a military port near Abu Dhabi. 

A few weeks after the news was published, another article claimed that the United Arab Emirates had stopped the project at the request of the United States. However, a secret document leaked on the Discord messaging platform said that China had resumed work on the base after a year. 

This news was published in a report by The Washington Post. The United Arab Emirates and China are not hiding their military ties. In 2024, they held joint air force exercises in China’s Xinjiang region. Middle East Eye contacted the UAE and Chinese embassies in Washington for comment. However, neither side responded. 

The US Department of Defense also did not respond. The United Arab Emirates is a close security and economic partner of the United States. However, its relationship with Beijing has been strained in recent years. Like Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the UAE has sought to please former US President Donald Trump and his family, especially Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. 

Last week, the Trump administration approved the export of thousands of advanced AI chips to the UAE’s state-owned AI (artificial intelligence) company G42 and its Saudi rival, Humane. The Trump administration’s decision has been welcomed by technology companies such as Nvidia, which need export markets to boost its chip sales. 

But some US defense and security officials, concerned about China’s influence in the Gulf, are unhappy with the decision. “The Saudis may be a little better,” one of the former senior officials told Middle East Eye. But I don’t think the UAE will be loyal to the US.’ A report in The Financial Times last October said that the US had intelligence in 2022 that the UAE’s G42 company had provided China’s Huawei with technology that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army had used to increase the range of its surface-to-air missiles. 

A report in The Financial Times last October said that the US had intelligence in 2022 that the UAE’s G42 company had provided China’s Huawei with technology that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army had used to increase the range of its surface-to-air missiles. In addition to business deals, the UAE is also important to the US for projecting power in the region. 

Middle East Eye recently reported that the US had used the UAE’s Red Sea bases to attack the Islamic State militant group in Somalia. More importantly for Washington, the UAE has emerged as Israel’s closest Arab partner. In 2020, the UAE signed the Abraham Accords, brokered by Trump, to normalize relations with Israel. Earlier this year, the UAE lobbied the Trump administration to prevent Israel from annexing the occupied West Bank. 

However, despite the brutal Israeli offensive in Gaza, relations between the UAE and Israel have remained relatively cordial. The first-term Trump administration had promised to provide the UAE with F-35 fighter jets in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel. But that deal stalled under the Biden administration due to US concerns about its relationship with China. 

In an August 2022 Senate hearing, Barbara Leaf, the Biden administration’s top Middle East diplomat, said that China was “getting by doing whatever it wants” in the Middle East. Asked why the sale of F-35 fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates was stalled, Leaf cited “a number of issues” related to their relationship with China that had hindered the deal. 

During the Saudi crown prince’s recent visit to Washington, Trump said he would move forward with the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

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