The close partnership between Gulf states and 
tech companies not only runs counter to the narrative of close US-Gulf cooperation, but also presents major security challenges. The US bases many of its regional forces within or near the same urban areas now wired by gear.
* In Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, mobile operator VIVA has chosen Huawei to provision its nationwide 5G rollout, placing Chinese telecoms equipment on the very airwaves that serve the US fleet’s base at Mina Salman.
* Near Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra Air Base, Emirati telecom engineers maintain 5G networks supplied by Huawei, while satellite photos have already revealed Chinese construction at a nearby commercial pier.
commanders now worry that civilian networks could become antennas for inadvertent — or intentional — collection of military signals. Gulf officials claim that layered firewalls and on-site inspection rights give them adequate control, and that strategic partnerships with the US can coexist with commercial ties to China.
The US still supplies the bulk of Gulf security, yet its presence now overlaps with telecom towers and cloud racks, a juxtaposition that complicates intelligence protection and crisis planning. For the moment, Gulf rulers believe they can preserve their American shield while buying Chinese digital tools, but every new contract shifts operational leverage, and perhaps strategic loyalty, incrementally eastward.
Can Gulf leaders keep this balancing act going, not just in their security and investment policy, but how to handle high pressure scenarios, such as when smart-city grids are operating alongside sensitive military circuits amid some future crisis or even war? How does Washington reckon with partners whose civilian infrastructure is not just run by, but is a key facilitator of the technology strategy of its own major strategic and trade competitor? Can Beijing convert its commercial footholds into something more, including overt military privileges?
tech companies not only runs counter to the narrative of close US-Gulf cooperation, but also presents major security challenges. The US bases many of its regional forces within or near the same urban areas now wired by gear.
* In Bahrain, home to the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, mobile operator VIVA has chosen Huawei to provision its nationwide 5G rollout, placing Chinese telecoms equipment on the very airwaves that serve the US fleet’s base at Mina Salman.
* Near Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra Air Base, Emirati telecom engineers maintain 5G networks supplied by Huawei, while satellite photos have already revealed Chinese construction at a nearby commercial pier.
commanders now worry that civilian networks could become antennas for inadvertent — or intentional — collection of military signals. Gulf officials claim that layered firewalls and on-site inspection rights give them adequate control, and that strategic partnerships with the US can coexist with commercial ties to China.
The US still supplies the bulk of Gulf security, yet its presence now overlaps with telecom towers and cloud racks, a juxtaposition that complicates intelligence protection and crisis planning. For the moment, Gulf rulers believe they can preserve their American shield while buying Chinese digital tools, but every new contract shifts operational leverage, and perhaps strategic loyalty, incrementally eastward.
Can Gulf leaders keep this balancing act going, not just in their security and investment policy, but how to handle high pressure scenarios, such as when smart-city grids are operating alongside sensitive military circuits amid some future crisis or even war? How does Washington reckon with partners whose civilian infrastructure is not just run by, but is a key facilitator of the technology strategy of its own major strategic and trade competitor? Can Beijing convert its commercial footholds into something more, including overt military privileges?Quote
Byron Wan
@Byron_Wan
As a key part of “Digital Silk Road 2.0,” the Gulf states have signed a cascade of contracts with companies including Huawei, Alibaba, China Telecom, Dahua, SenseTime, Tencent, ZTE, and a growing roster of specialists, over the past two years that promise to deliver
Show more“Digital Silk Road 2.0,” the Gulf states have signed a cascade of contracts with companies including Huawei, Alibaba, China Telecom, Dahua, SenseTime, Tencent, ZTE, and a growing roster of specialists, over the past two years that promise to deliver