The concern came following two planes belonging to the Chinese military that landed at a UAE airport and delivered unknown materials to Abu Dhabi, based on intelligence reports cited by American officials. American officials also cited close cooperation between the UAE and China as another reason for concern when speaking to WSJ.
The US agreed to sell F-35s to the UAE in light of the August 2020 Abraham Accords, an agreement brokered by Washington that established normalized relations between Israel and the Arab nations of the UAE and Bahrain, with Sudan and Morocco later following suit.
In response to the US concerns, the UAE's ambassador to the US said to WSJ his country has a long track record of ensuring the protection of US military technology.
While the deal was originally organized under the Trump administration, US President Joe Biden has indicated that he intends to follow through with the deal, but the exact terms are still being discussed between the parties.
Another unnamed official said told WSJ that the US is seeking to influence the conditions by setting parameters on a few issues, namely Israel's qualitative military edge, a longstanding policy of the Washington, in addition to ensuring the non-transfer of F-35 and drone technology to China, as well as restrictions on the equipment's use in the ongoing conflicts in Yemen and Libya. A third official speaking to WSJ said that the establishment of a Chinese base in the UAE would halt the deal.
Growing ties between China and the Middle East comes as the US continues to withdraw military personnel from the region as part Washington's strategic shift to focusing on East Asia, raising concerns among traditional US allies, including Israel, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and other Gulf countries in light of Iran's expanding influence.
Besides China's recent transfer of unknown materials, Beijing has worked to increase cooperation with the UAE in other areas, such as trade, non-military technology and finance.