America's long security, defence and commerce history in the Middle East gives it a “clear advantage” over China, whose economic influence is on the rise in the region, a senior US official said on Thursday.
Barbara Leaf, the US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, told the Senate that America’s eight-decade history in safeguarding the region gave it an edge over Beijing — and that it should be maintained.
“For decades, we have worked to prevent conflicts and terrorism from threatening the security and stability of the United States and that of our partners and allies, to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to ensure the security of our closest partners, including an ironclad commitment to Israel’s security,” Ms Leaf said.
As Washington assesses China’s “influence today in the Middle East and North Africa, in these areas that matter most to our national security, we retain a clear advantage that [Beijing] is unable to challenge”, she added.
Ms Leaf said the region remains critical for US national security, arguing that its “sea lanes are essential to a secure global supply chain and commerce” and that its energy resources remain vital for market stability and the global economy.
“I would not want to see China pick up the role that we have had for almost 80 years in securing sea lanes and the flow commerce energy,” she said.
“It’s a big job. It's a big responsibility.”
She noted, however, the exponential rise of China’s economic interests and role in the region. Ms Leaf said China's trade activity had risen from $15.2 billion in 2000 to $284.3bn in 2021.
“That dramatic jump was driven in no small part by energy — mainly oil and natural gas — accounting for 46 per cent of the total trade today,” she said.
The US trade with the Middle East during that same 20-year period rose from $63.4bn to $98.4bn.
Ms Leaf pointed to Beijing’s close relationship with Tehran and said Chinese-made drones are being supplied to Iranian proxies attacking Gulf countries.
She argued this is a liability for China's security ties with Arab countries.
“It is an irony. I'm the first to say that those UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] to these [Iranian] proxies are Chinese,” Ms Leaf said.
“They're not provided by the state, but the state does not attempt to curtail that flow.”
Ms Leaf warned, however, of the risk Arab states could face in increasing defence relations with China.
Asked about the possibility of Beijing establishing military bases in the region, the senior US official made it clear this would be a red line for Washington.
“This is a kind of issue where we're very clear with our partners: economic relationships are one thing, buying defence articles are another thing, but they will quickly run up against the [US] bilateral defence relationship itself,” she said.
As to China’s 25-year strategic defence agreement with Iran, Ms Leaf said it was not surprising but required more work from Washington to counter its impact.
“The regime in Tehran is itself so supremely isolated and not just because of our sanctions — it’s isolated because of its own actions, its own predatory destructive behaviour within [the country] as well as the larger region,” she said.
Ms Leaf stated that President Joe Biden’s visit to the region last month was aimed at laying the groundwork to counter China's influence and do “the hard diplomatic work, the defence work, the security co-operation, intelligence co-operation [work] with all of those neighbours, but not just the Gulf countries”.
On Iraq and the current stalemate over the formation of a new government, Ms Leaf said that the administration is “leveraging relationships and providing good counsel and above all, counselling these blocks” without becoming involved in the political infighting.
She added that she is likely visit to the country in September.
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster with a decades-long career in TV. He has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others. Karam is also the founder of Takreem.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
The%C2%A0specs%20
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Kanye%20West
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Qualifier A, Muscat
(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv)
Fixtures
Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain
Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain
Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines
Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals
Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final
UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
3%20Body%20Problem
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%20Ramez%20Gab%20Min%20El%20Akher
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
DAY%20ONE%20RESULT
%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Charlotte%20Kool%20(NED)%20%E2%80%93%20Team%20DSM%3A%202hrs%2C%2047min%2C%2014sec%3Cbr%3E2.%20Lorena%20Wiebes%20(NED)%20%E2%80%93%20Team%20SD%20Worx%3A%20%2B4%20secs%3Cbr%3E3.%20Chiara%20Consonni%20(ITA)%20%E2%80%93%20UAE%20Team%20ADQ%3A%20%2B5%20secs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Regional Qualifier
The top three teams progress to the Asia Qualifier
Final: UAE beat Qatar by nine wickets
Third-place play-off: Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by five runs
Table
1 UAE 5 5 0 10
2 Qatar 5 4 1 8
3 Saudi 5 3 2 6
4 Kuwait 5 2 3 4
5 Bahrain 5 1 4 2
6 Maldives 5 0 5 0
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
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Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Floyd Mayweather
- Height
- Weight
- Reach
- Record
Conor McGregor
- Height
- Weight
- Reach
- Record
SPECS
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Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20profile
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The%20specs
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
RACE RESULTS
1. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1hr 21min 48.527sec
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) at 0.658sec
3. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) 6.012
4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 7.430
5. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN/Ferrari) 20.370
6. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) 1:13.160
7. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Force India) 1 lap
8. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India) 1 lap
9. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) 1 lap
10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams) 1 lap
11. Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) 1 lap
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren) 1 lap
13. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Renault) 1 lap
14. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/Sauber) 1 lap
15. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) 2 laps
16. Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Toro Rosso) 3 laps
Most%20polluted%20cities%20in%20the%20Middle%20East
%3Cp%3E1.%20Baghdad%2C%20Iraq%3Cbr%3E2.%20Manama%2C%20Bahrain%3Cbr%3E3.%20Dhahran%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E4.%20Kuwait%20City%2C%20Kuwait%3Cbr%3E5.%20Ras%20Al%20Khaimah%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E6.%20Ash%20Shihaniyah%2C%20Qatar%3Cbr%3E7.%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E8.%20Cairo%2C%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E9.%20Riyadh%2C%20Saudi%20Arabia%3Cbr%3E10.%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%202022%20World%20Air%20Quality%20Report%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
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Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
