China, UAE to Hold 1st Joint Air Force Drill Amid Deepening Ties

Planes from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force fly in formation in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019. (Wang He/Getty Images)

China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will hold their first joint air force drill in August to bolster military cooperation, a move that analysts say sends a message to the United States about the UAE’s security options.

The Falcon Shield-2023 joint exercise will take place in China’s Xinjiang Province, the Chinese Defense Ministry stated on July 31, without specifying the dates and scope of the training.

“This is the first joint training between both air forces, aiming to deepen pragmatic exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries and enhance mutual understanding and trust,” the ministry said in a statement.

The joint exercise is being hailed by state-run Chinese media as “a good start” for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to “enhance military exchanges and cooperation with countries in the Middle East.”

The UAE may use its joint drill with China to send “a message” to the United States, analysts say. Defense analyst Zafer Al Ajami told Breaking Defense that it demonstrates that the UAE “still has choices in managing [its] security the best way it can think of.”

David Des Roches, associate professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Security Studies, said the location chosen for the drill is also a cause of concern.

“This is a rather unfortunate development as the UAE seems to try to demonstrate to the U.S. [that] it has options. But it is highly likely that there is less here than meets the eye,” he told the media outlet.

The UAE, a Muslim-majority nation, chose to participate in the drill despite the fact that Washington had determined that Beijing committed genocide against Uyghur Muslims and other minorities in the Xinjiang region, Mr. Des Roches said.

“The fact that the leadership of a Muslim country would participate in military exercises in this country under such circumstances helps China normalize such behavior, even as it wipes out an ancient Muslim culture,” he said.

In May, the UAE announced its withdrawal from the U.S.-led maritime coalition Combined Maritime Forces, while affirming its commitment to dialogue and diplomatic engagement to ensure regional security.

“As a result of our ongoing evaluation of effective security cooperation with all partners, two months ago, the UAE withdrew its participation in the Combined Maritime Forces,” the UAE Foreign Ministry stated.

The UAE also struck a deal with China in February to buy Chinese-built L-15 multirole military aircraft, marking a major shift from the country’s traditional practice of only procuring Western military aircraft.

China’s Influence in Middle East

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) speaks during a rally for the anniversary of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision in Washington on June 20, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said the CCP’s diplomatic surge in the Middle East and regional powers’ decision to signal their discontent with the United States through such diplomacy, stems in part from a Biden administration decision to pull resources from the region to pivot toward prioritizing the Indo–Pacific.

That transition left leaders in the Middle East unsure of U.S. commitment and baffled as to what the nation was actually willing to do to stabilize and engage with the region, he said.

“No one in the region knows where America stands with Iran,” Mr. Lankford said during a March 23 discussion with the America First Policy Institute, a conservative think tank.

“If [leaders in the Middle East] don’t know what America is willing to do, they’re going to turn to China, they’re going to turn to somebody else, they’re going to figure out how they can just survive because there’s no clear plan.”

Andrew Thornebrooke contributed to this report.