The Chinese and Emirati air forces are scheduled to conduct their first joint exercise this month in the Uyghur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang.

The US intelligence community has repeatedly warned that Chinese experts are helping to build military facilities in the UAE. Two years ago, the Wall Street Journal published data that China is participating in the construction of a military base near Khalifa Port (in Abu Dhabi). That same year, the process appears to have been halted after the Biden administration informed its ally of the dangers of such involvement.

However, the Washington Post reported that US intelligence observed, in December 2022, the resumption of construction on Project 141.

In this regard, David De Roche, Professor at the Center for Security Issues in the Middle East and South Asia (USA), said: "The UAE does not have as much room for maneuver as it tries to show, and that air maneuvers may prompt additional caution on the part of the United States." the United States about selling weapons to the UAE if the Pentagon and the intelligence community believe the Emiratis are getting too close to Asia.”

According to De Roche, conducting exercises in Xinjiang may also cause concern in Washington.

He said that the fact that a country representing the Islamic world participated in the military maneuvers, under these circumstances, supports the Chinese narrative about what is happening in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency