UAE - a skeptical ally of the US

Despite being a close ally of the US, the UAE pursues a policy of making friends with all, including China and Russia, while being skeptical of security commitments from Washington.

Richard Clarke, the US national security adviser, once described the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the closest counterterrorism ally in the Gulf. Washington also sees Abu Dhabi as an important partner in stabilizing global energy markets.

For the UAE, the US has been its most important foreign ally since its founding in 1971. Over the years, the UAE has pursued a "friends-to-all" policy to strengthen economic and foreign relations with many countries around the world. But that effort has made the UAE's relationship with the US more difficult.

In early 2021, US intelligence discovered that Chinese shipping giant Cosco was building a “suspicious” structure in the UAE’s Khalifa Port area, which it said was a “secret military base”. US President Joe Biden later spoke by phone with Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, then Crown Prince of the UAE, warning that allowing China to “build a base” would have a serious impact on the US-UAE partnership.

The UAE government said it was unaware of plans to build a military facility at Khalifa Port, calling it a purely commercial port, but acknowledged concerns from the US. A senior Biden administration official later said the UAE had halted the project.

In late 2021, the UAE threatened to cancel the purchase of F-35 stealth fighters, Reaper drones and many other modern weapons from the US, citing Washington's strict security requirements to prevent these weapons from falling into the hands of Chinese intelligence. The US also objected to the UAE inviting China's Huawei to participate in building the 5G network.

UAE President bin Zayed Al Nahyan (left) and US President Joe Biden in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in July 2022. Photo: AFP

US and UAE officials say Mr Mohamed has pursued a more independent foreign policy after witnessing the upheaval in US politics under Donald Trump.

“The balance of the relationship has changed. The US can no longer pick up the phone and tell the UAE to do what it wants,” said Dina Esfandiary, senior adviser for the Middle East at the International Crisis Group in Brussels, Belgium. “The downside is that sometimes the UAE doesn’t get what it wants from the US because it doesn’t do what Washington says.”

UAE officials said they were skeptical about the US commitment after Washington blamed Iran for attacks on Saudi oil facilities and tankers in the Gulf in 2019 but failed to publicly respond. The UAE also said it was sidelined during secret US negotiations with Iran that led to the 2015 nuclear deal that the UAE opposed.

They were also upset with Washington's response to missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Houthi forces on Abu Dhabi in January 2022.

Many world leaders sent messages of sympathy and solidarity to Crown Prince Mohamed after the attacks, but President Biden did not make any calls.

Weeks later, the United States sent fighter jets and a guided-missile destroyer to the region. When a senior American commander visited, Mr. Mohamed refused to meet. Weeks later, when Russia launched its campaign in Ukraine, Mr. Mohamed refused to heed President Biden’s call to support Kiev.

US officials admit they underestimated the UAE’s concerns about security threats in the region. One official said the deployment of US fighter jets and warships to the Gulf after the Houthi attacks was evidence of Washington’s security commitment to Abu Dhabi.

Crown Prince Mohamed took office as President of the UAE in May 2022, after President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan died of a serious illness. He then chose France over the United States for his first foreign trip, as relations between Abu Dhabi and Washington were strained over the energy crisis.

Twice in the past seven months, the UAE and its OPEC partners have joined Russia in cutting oil production, despite objections from the US. US officials have repeatedly warned that the UAE is helping Russia evade sanctions, as Russians flock to Dubai to trade oil, buy real estate and store money.

The US and the European Union (EU) have sanctioned UAE companies that facilitate Russian oil trade and have business ties with Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov.

In a July 2022 conversation with Biden on the sidelines of a regional summit, President Mohamed expressed disappointment that the US had abandoned its security commitment to the UAE and reminded Biden that UAE soldiers had fought alongside US troops in the fight against terrorism for three decades, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE minister in charge of climate policy, said the country wanted to develop ties with the US, but not at the expense of other countries. He said the UAE wanted to maintain ties with the US as well as with India, Europe, Russia, China and many other countries.

President Mohamed began to strengthen ties with China years ago, but bilateral cooperation only really became closer during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the UAE opened its borders to China while much of the world was closed. The UAE has produced masks using machinery imported from China, and has collaborated with Beijing to develop PCR testing equipment and a Covid-19 vaccine.

UAE-China trade has exceeded $70 billion. In addition to oil, the two countries have expanded their cooperation to finance, technology and cultural exchanges.

The UAE also shares many of Russia’s interests. In February 2022, Abu Dhabi refused to vote in favor of a UN Security Council resolution condemning Russia’s war in Ukraine, as it sought Moscow’s support for a resolution designating the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (left) and President Sheikh Mohamed in the UAE in October 2019. Photo: Reuters

The UAE’s abstention dealt a blow to the US’s initial effort to rally allies to isolate Russia. The decision came as the UAE prepares to assume the presidency of the UN Security Council and seeks to mediate the conflict, said Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE ambassador to the United Nations. On March 2, 2022, the UAE voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution calling on Russia to end the conflict.

UAE investment funds have poured billions of dollars into Russia and Mr Mohamed has also met regularly with President Vladimir Putin over the past two decades, deepening the personal relationship between the two leaders.

“Mr. Mohamed has been very patient in building this relationship with Russia,” said Anwar Gargash, foreign policy adviser to the UAE president.

Senior UAE officials said the country did not feel its alliance with the US prevented it from maintaining cooperation with Russia or China. “With this policy, we will not be caught in the competition between great powers,” Gargash said.

Thanh Tam (According to WSJ )

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