The US intelligence community said that China secretly built a military facility on the port area near Abu Dhabi. This is reported by the THT Wall Street Journal newspaper with reference to the sources.
For the first time, information about suspicious activity near the capital of the UAE received approximately a year ago. Then the data was considered not convincing, but satellite images made in the spring of 2021 convinced the American authorities that China is building some kind of military installation in the port.
US President Joe Bayiden warned the authorities of the UAE that China’s military presence in the country can threaten the relationship between the two states. As the interlocutors of the publication told, after a series of meetings and visits of US officials, the construction of this facility was stopped. In their opinion, the government of the Emirate, interested in acquiring advanced American fighters and drones, did not know about the military character of China’s activity.
Middle East becomes more and more often the main platform for US-Chinese competition. In addition, the UAE is one of the key partners for the United States in the region. However, recently, China has strengthened its economic ties with the UAE and at the moment is one of its largest trading partners, as well as the largest consumer of oil from the Persian Gulf region. All this makes the invasion of China to the country even more potentially dangerous for the US interests, the publication notes. In addition, for concerns about the emerging cooperation in the field of security between Beijing and Abu Dhabi, the transaction of the sale of 50 American fighters fifth generation F-35, 18 unmanned aircraft Reaper and other modern ammunition between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
On October 16, the British newspaper Financial Times wrote that in August Beijing experienced a new hypersonic rocket capable of carrying nuclear weapons. After that, Biden expressed concern for this occasion. In turn, the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Zhao Lyjdan stated that in August the government tests the spacecraft.