AMERICAN diplomacy has stopped China from secretly building a suspected is a military port in the United Arab Emirates, 50 miles north of Abu Dhabi, reports the Wall Street Journal.
After talks, construction was stopped, according to people familiar with the matter, said the WSJ report.
Alarmed, the US has warned the UAE that a chinese military presence in its country could threaten ties between the two nations.
China's effort to establish a military foothold in the UAE reflects the challenges the US faces in competing with Beijing globally, said the report.
US intelligence reports indicated suspicious Chinese activity at the UAE Port of Khalifa, where China's giant Cosco Shipping conglomerate had built and now runs a container terminal.
The trajectory of Chinese activity at the port in the UAE began as have other attempts by the Chinese, with Beijing leveraging commercial ties to establish an anchor for its military, said the WSJ.
China opened its first military outpost abroad in the East African nation of Djibouti in 2017 to facilitate operations around the Indian Ocean and Africa. In Cambodia in 2019, China signed a secret agreement to allow its armed forces to use a naval base.
Elsewhere, China has built commercial port facilities in Pakistan and Sri Lanka that could be used by its rapidly expanding navy.
In recent years, China has strengthened its economic ties with the UAE and is now one of its largest trading partners as well as the biggest consumer of Gulf oil.
UAE has embraced China's Huawei telecom infrastructure, which senior Western officials warn leaves it vulnerable to Chinese espionage. Beijing has denied such allegations.
UAE is one of American's closest Middle East allies, and the two countries have longstanding trade and security ties, making China's incursion there even more potentially menacing, said the report.
The halt in construction appeared to put Washington's relationship with Abu Dhabi back on track.The F-35 and MQ-9 Reaper drone deal with the UAE would again move forward.
SeaNews Turkey
After talks, construction was stopped, according to people familiar with the matter, said the WSJ report.
Alarmed, the US has warned the UAE that a chinese military presence in its country could threaten ties between the two nations.
China's effort to establish a military foothold in the UAE reflects the challenges the US faces in competing with Beijing globally, said the report.
US intelligence reports indicated suspicious Chinese activity at the UAE Port of Khalifa, where China's giant Cosco Shipping conglomerate had built and now runs a container terminal.
The trajectory of Chinese activity at the port in the UAE began as have other attempts by the Chinese, with Beijing leveraging commercial ties to establish an anchor for its military, said the WSJ.
China opened its first military outpost abroad in the East African nation of Djibouti in 2017 to facilitate operations around the Indian Ocean and Africa. In Cambodia in 2019, China signed a secret agreement to allow its armed forces to use a naval base.
Elsewhere, China has built commercial port facilities in Pakistan and Sri Lanka that could be used by its rapidly expanding navy.
In recent years, China has strengthened its economic ties with the UAE and is now one of its largest trading partners as well as the biggest consumer of Gulf oil.
UAE has embraced China's Huawei telecom infrastructure, which senior Western officials warn leaves it vulnerable to Chinese espionage. Beijing has denied such allegations.
UAE is one of American's closest Middle East allies, and the two countries have longstanding trade and security ties, making China's incursion there even more potentially menacing, said the report.
The halt in construction appeared to put Washington's relationship with Abu Dhabi back on track.The F-35 and MQ-9 Reaper drone deal with the UAE would again move forward.
SeaNews Turkey