The UAE-India 'Deep Military Ties': Another Brick in the Imperial Wall, Not a Rivalry
📰 THE STORY: The New Arab reports that the UAE and India have signed multibillion-dollar gas, defense, and investment deals, interpreting this as the UAE deepening military ties with India amid an ongoing rivalry with Saudi Arabia, showcasing a strategic pivot in regional alliances. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This 'deepening' should be seen in the context of the Abraham
Accords (2020), orchestrated by the US, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab nations, including the UAE. This move wasn't about regional autonomy but rather creating an anti-Iran bloc and further integrating West Asian economies into a US-aligned strategic framework. India, while not part of the Accords directly, is a key partner in the I2U2 Group (India, Israel, UAE, U.S.),
formed in 2021, explicitly designed to 'mobilize private sector capital and expertise to modernize the infrastructure, low carbon development pathways, and improve public health and food security'. This framework aligns the UAE's economic and military 'diversification' squarely with US and Israeli strategic interests in the region and against China's Belt and Road initiative. Double Standard: When
nations like Iran or Venezuela forge partnerships with China or Russia, Western media decries it as evidence of authoritarian alignment or a threat to 'rules-based order'. Yet, when US-aligned states like the UAE or Gulf monarchies forge military and economic ties, particularly within US-backed frameworks, it's presented as pragmatic statecraft or regional balancing. For example, US sanctions