WSJ: US intelligence learned that China was secretly building a military facility at a port near Abu Dhabi
The US intelligence community said China secretly built a military facility in a port area near Abu Dhabi. This was reported by the Tht Wall Street Journal, citing sources.
For the first time, information about suspicious activity near the capital of the UAE came about a year ago. Then the data was considered not convincing, but satellite images taken in the spring of 2021 convinced the American authorities that China was building some kind of military installation in the port.
The administration of US President Joe Biden warned the UAE authorities that China's military presence in the country could threaten ties between the two states. According to the interlocutors of the publication, 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, was not aware of the military nature of China's activities.
The Middle East is increasingly becoming the main venue for US-China competition. In addition, the UAE is one of the key partners for the United States in the region. Recently, however, China has strengthened its economic ties with the UAE and is currently one of its largest trading partners, as well as the largest consumer of oil from the Persian Gulf region. All this makes the Chinese invasion of the country even more potentially dangerous to US interests, the newspaper notes. In addition, concerns over nascent security cooperation between Beijing and Abu Dhabi potentially jeopardize a deal to sell 50 US fifth-generation F-35 fighters, 18 Reaper drones and other advanced munitions between the US and the UAE. p>
On October 16, the British newspaper Financial Times wrote that in August Beijing tested a new hypersonic missile capable of carrying nuclear weapons. After that, Biden expressed concern about the matter. In turn, the official spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry Zhao Lijian said that in August the government conducted tests of the spacecraft.