New Delhi: The air forces of China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are set to hold their maiden exercise in the country’s northwestern province of Xinjiang — which hosts nearly 12 million Uyghur Muslims who are facing a crackdown from the Chinese government.
The joint exercises, “Falcon Shield”, will be held later this month.
A statement from the Chinese defence stated, “This is the first combined air force training between China and the UAE,” adding, “It aims to deepen pragmatic exchange and cooperation between the two militaries and to promote mutual understanding and trust.”
Interestingly, the UAE is a critical US ally, which provides essential support for US troops, aircraft and naval vessels in the Middle East region. The UAE hosts 5,000 US military personnel at Al Dhafra Air Base, just outside Abu Dhabi.
China, however, plans to make inroads into West Asia – wooing the region with its economic and military prowess. China has undertaken anti-piracy operations, building of commercial ports and growing arms sales.
The Xinjiang region has experienced several military exercises conducted by China since 2016, when China along with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) members trained in the region.
In addition, the Chinese and Pakistani air force have also held joint drills to improve combat logistics, night coordination and defence against electromagnetic interference.
In May 2014, China had launched the “Strike Hard Campaign against Violent Terrorism” in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang or XUAR) against Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims.
Xinjiang is the only region in China with a majority Muslim population and the Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other communities in the region are ethnically Turkic.
While the majority of the Han Chinese primarily speak Chinese, the Turkic population is predominantly Muslim and have their own languages.
Multiple human rights groups have come out with horrific details of the crackdown on Muslims by China.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights charged China last year with using state power to systematically obliterate the Uyghur identity.
China-UAE military ties
Chinese President Xi Jinping had addressed the first China-Arab States summit in December last year which was attended by the 21 members of the Arab League. They had agreed to more cooperation between their militaries.
The military ties between China and UAE have increased over a period of time. UAE uses China-made arms such as combat drones — Wing Loong 1 and the Wing Loong 2 by Chengdu Aircraft Industry Group.
In addition, as per Chinese mouthpiece, Global Times, in February 2023, China announced that it had sealed a deal with the UAE to export L15 advanced trainer jets to the Middle East country.
As per reports, China’s trade and investments in Middle East countries have grown exponentially, surpassing that of the United States.
Also read: ‘Wrong and dangerous path’: China urges US to restrict military aid to Taiwan