UAE suspends multi-billion dollar weapons deal in sign of growing frustration with US-China showdown
By Mostafa Salem, Jennifer Hansler and Celine Alkhaldi, CNN
Tue December 14, 2021 https://www.cnn.com/2021/12/14/middleeast/uae-weapons-deal-washington-china-intl/index.html
An
F-35 fighter jet arrives at the Vermont Air National Guard base in
South Burlington, Vt., Sept. 19, 2019. The United Arab Emirates on Dec.
14, 2021, suspended talks on a $23 billion deal to purchase US-made F-35
planes, armed drones and other equipment, in a rare dispute between
Washington and a key US ally in the Gulf.
Abu Dhabi, UAE (CNN)The United Arab Emirates has suspended a multi-billion dollar deal to buy US-made F-35 fighter jets, in a sign of Abu Dhabi's growing frustration with Washington's attempts to limit Chinese technology sales to the oil-rich Gulf state.
"The
UAE has informed the US that it will suspend discussions to acquire the
F-35," an Emirati official told CNN. "Technical requirements, sovereign
operational restrictions, and cost/benefit analysis led to the
re-assessment."
"The
UAE and US were working toward an understanding that would address
mutual defense security conditions for the acquisition," the official
added. "The US remains the UAE's preferred provider for advanced defense
requirements and discussions for the F-35 may be re-opened in the
future."
The
US State Department said the White House remained "committed" to the
deal, which was seen as a cornerstone of an August 2020 agreement to
normalize diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel. The sale --
which would involve the most advanced US weaponry ever transferred to an
Arab state -- has been on a collision course since then, with US
politicians raising concerns about the deal.
On
Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby also said that the US was
willing to work with the UAE to address both countries' concerns. "The
US partnership with the UAE is more strategic and more complex than any
one weapons sale," Kirby said at a press gaggle. "We will always insist,
as a matter of statutory requirements and policy, on a variety of
end-user requirements. That's typical."
"And
these end-user requirements and protection of US defense equipment are
universal, nonnegotiable and not specific to the UAE," he added.
The
suspension of the landmark deal comes a day after Israeli Prime
Minister Naftali Bennett met the UAE's de facto leader, Abu Dhabi Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, in the UAE capital. It was the first offical
visit was the first by an Israeli leader to the Gulf state.
"As
we recently confirmed at the Dubai Air Show, the Biden-Harris
Administration remains committed to the proposed sales of F-35 aircraft,
the MQ-9B, and munitions even as we continue consultations to ensure
that we have a clear, mutual understanding of Emirati obligations and
actions before, during and after delivery," a State Department
spokesperson said.
The
US government has repeatedly pushed the UAE to drop China's Huawei
Technologies Co. from its telecommunications network, and claimed that
the technology could pose a security risk for its weapons systems.
"The
F-35 is our crown jewel of the United States, of our air force and so
we need to be able to protect the technology security for all of our
partners," US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Regional Security
Mira Resnick told CNN's Becky Anderson last week, responding to a
question about whether the UAE would have to choose between Huawei and
the F-35s.
"These
are the conversations we have with the Emiratis about the choices they
can make now to be sure they can be part of the F-35 program," Resnick
added.
But
UAE officials have been skeptical about US claims about the potential
security breach and have expressed anxiety about getting caught up in a
"new cold war" between a top trading partner and its main strategic
ally. "What we are worried about is this fine line between acute
competition (between China and the US) and a new Cold War," Anwar
Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the UAE leadership, said in remarks to
the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington last week. "Because I think
we, as a small state, will be affected negatively by this, but will not
have the ability in any way to affect this competition even positively
really."
In those remarks, Gargash also confirmed reports
that the UAE had shuttered a Chinese facility over US suspicions that
it was being used for military purposes, despite the UAE disagreeing
with the US' characterization of the site. "The UAE's view was that
these certain facilities in no way could be construed as military
facilities," said Gargash. "However, US had its concerns and we took
these American concerns into consideration and stopped the work on these
facilities."
"But
our position remains the same. That these facilities were not really
military facilities," he added. "But then again, you had the concerns of
your major ally, and I think it would be foolish for you not to address
the concerns of your ally."
A
military delegation from the UAE is scheduled to visit the Pentagon
tomorrow, according to Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary. Though the
meeting wasn't supposed to be about the sale of F-35s, it will almost
certainly come up, he said.
"The
meeting wasn't designed to talk about a military sale," he said. "It
was designed talk about the broad scope of our defense relationship with
the UAE. But I would anticipate that this would be something that we
would take advantage of the opportunity to talk with them about their
concerns, as well as sharing our concerns about the sale."
Mostafa Salem and Celine Alkhaldi reported from Abu Dhabi. Jennifer Hansler and Oren Liebermann reported from Washington. Tamara Qiblawi wrote from London.