China waits in wings as Mecca pact signals Gulf move beyond US security umbrella
- The grand security bargain between the United States and Gulf countries is widely perceived to be fraying, creating what analysts see as an opening for Beijing to expand its presence in the region.
- For decades, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states relied on Washington’s defensive shield, while it in turn relied on them for access, energy and influence.
- Signed this week in Mecca, the pact declares that an armed attack on one will be treated as an attack on all three, in an echo of Nato’s Article 5.
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- The grand security bargain between the United States and Gulf countries is widely perceived to be fraying, creating what analysts see as an opening for Beijing to expand its presence in the region.
- For decades, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states relied on Washington’s defensive shield, while it in turn relied on them for access, energy and influence.
- Signed this week in Mecca, the pact declares that an armed attack on one will be treated as an attack on all three, in an echo of Nato’s Article 5.
Sources: South China Morning Post