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| The US maintains a great deal of control over how its exported F35s can be used |
International Military - Relations between the United Arab Emirates and the United States are not on good terms. The UAE is known to have angered the US by stopping a deal with the US to procure F-35 aircraft for the gulf countries.
Quoted from The Eurasian Times, the UAE has told Washington that it could terminate the deal over the F-35 planes, Reaper drones and other advanced munitions. Not only that, the UAE embassy in Washington also said the same thing. That the discussions with the US will be suspended and do not know when to resume.
"The US remains the UAE's preferred provider for advanced defense requirements and discussions for the F-35 may reopen in the future," the embassy said in a statement. Meanwhile, quoted from Defense Security Asia, the refusal of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to end its relationship with the well-known Chinese telecommunications company, Huawei, in 5G technology is said to be one of the main reasons why the US canceled the sale of F-35 aircraft to the Gulf country.
Washington is said to have set a number of requirements that the UAE must comply with before it is allowed to buy its advanced fighter jets. One of the conditions is that the UAE must end its relationship with Huawei.
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Due to the UAE's stubbornness in refusing to comply with these conditions, the US decision to sell up to 50 F-35 aircraft taken during the Donald Trump administration was overturned by President Joe Biden's administration in December last year. In fact, what the UAE is facing is also experienced by many countries where they have to choose between two world economic powers, each of which expands its geopolitical influence.
Although the most advanced US fighter aircraft developed by Lockheed Martin does not use 5G technology, the UAE will use 5G in its communications stations, telecommunications towers at air bases and various facilities and this is what Washington is concerned about. "They (the United States) are concerned that China will have the opportunity to use all of those facilities to obtain as much intelligence as possible about the capabilities and how the F-35 aircraft operate," according to a Western analyst quoted from Defense Security Asia.
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Pentagon Defense Secretary John Kirby acknowledged that one of the main risks why the United States objected to UAE-Huawei cooperation. That's because fears will give China an opportunity to "spy" on the F-35's capabilities and operations. He added that the US's desire to maintain the security and confidentiality of the defense equipment and defense systems is something that the superpower cannot compromise.
This important requirement is not only imposed on the UAE but also on all countries that buy defense equipment from the US. In fact, the relationship between the UAE and Huawei has existed for several years, long before the Gulf state planned to have F-35 aircraft for use in its air force.
Huawei has collaborated with UAE telecommunications companies in the field of 5G and various things and technology. The UAE government used Huawei's 5G technology to emerge as the most advanced Arab country in the digital economy, thereby transforming the country's economy as a whole.
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Therefore, the UAE is not easy to end its cooperation with Huawei which is considered very important in ensuring the transformation goals of the Gulf state are successfully realized.