TRI VAN (General)
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is said to be separating from US foreign policy, especially regarding isolating Russia and limiting relations with China.
UAE President Sheikh Mohammed (left) during a meeting with his Russian counterpart Putin last year. Photo of the Kremlin
For a long time, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan is considered a close ally of the US, always counting on Washington to protect Abu Dhabi. However, the leader of this oil-rich kingdom has visited Russia twice in the past year to meet President Vladimir Putin. In June, the UAE was also the guest of honor at the St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, the air forces of the UAE and China will train together for the first time later this month - a remarkable change for a nation that has long depended on fighter jets and weapons. American gas and protection.
The deepening relationship between Abu Dhabi and Moscow and Beijing shows that a Middle Eastern country viewed by the US as an important partner is increasingly moving away from Washington. In recent times, US officials have had little success in convincing President Sheikh Mohammed to follow Washington's foreign policy, especially regarding limiting military ties with China as well as isolation. Russia after it launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine. Instead, the UAE attracts investment from Russia, fueling a real estate craze in the magnificent metropolis of Dubai. Analysts say the UAE's growing relationship with both US rivals and other developing economies is intended to prepare for the prospect that the world will one day no longer be dominated by Washington.
Over the past decade, the UAE leadership has always expressed concern about America's long-term commitment to the Middle East, which is currently home to tens of thousands of US military personnel. They fear that the US has reduced its interests in the region and that its military defense capabilities are declining and that Washington has not done enough to deter threats from Iran but also continues to seek greater protection. from America. But in an interview with The New York Times in June, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Dana Stroul said the US was still present in the region but was "asking our partners to do more." ".
Despite its small area, just about the size of the state of South Carolina (USA), the UAE is one of the world's leading oil exporters and owns national investment funds with total assets of up to 1.500. billion USD. The country soon diversified its economy away from its dependence on oil and expanded its influence abroad in many ways, including through sport. Notably, Abu Dhabi acted earlier than its neighbors to pursue a foreign policy more independent of Washington.
The UAE's bolder foreign policy began to emerge a decade before the Arab Spring revolution toppled dictators in the region at the same time then-US President Barack Obama announced a "pivot". to Asia. In the wake of the Middle East's power restructuring uprisings, the UAE sent troops and weapons into the many wars that followed in the region. In 2014, it carried out air strikes in Libya without notifying the US side. By 2015 after an Iranian-backed militia took control of the capital Sana'a (Yemen), UAE forces joined the Saudi-led military coalition to intervene, since then plunging Yemen into one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. In 2019, the UAE announced the withdrawal of its troops from Yemen, marking the beginning of a softer foreign policy that prioritizes reducing tensions, especially with Iran.
However, the UAE's frustration with the US continues to smolder. Accordingly, President Sheikh Mohammed has not visited the US since 2017. In 2021, the UAE also suspended negotiations with the US on the purchase of F-35 fighter jets as part of a $23 billion arms deal. , instead signed a number of agreements to buy weapons from other countries, including light attack aircraft from China. Tensions between the UAE and the US seem to have been "added to the fire" after Russia attacked Ukraine in February last year. The UAE and many other countries have stated that they will not be forced to take sides, and that they continue to have open dialogue with Russia in pursuit of peaceful goals.
However, Dina Esfandiary, senior adviser at the Middle East and North Africa program at the independent think-tank International Crisis Group, said that the UAE leadership's top priority right now remains "to ensure that the US have greater interests in the region, not less.”
Under the administration of US President Donald Trump, the UAE signed an agreement to normalize relations with Israel in September 9, and in May 2020, the two countries signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA). This is the first FTA between Israel and an Arab country.
