By Li Zixin
The current situation in the Middle East is very tense. The conflict in Gaza persists, and the conflict between Lebanon and Israel continues to escalate. At this sensitive moment, the news that Saudi Arabia and Iran will hold a joint military exercise in the Red Sea has become the focus of international public opinion.
This exercise was proposed by Saudi Arabia, which is quite unusual. For decades, Saudi Arabia has been one of the US' primary allies in the Middle East, and "oil for security" is the underlying logic of the two countries' exchanges. Over the years, Saudi Arabia has aligned with the US on defense matters, bringing significant profits for US arms exports while receiving security protection from the US in return.
However, this relationship has significantly changed in the past decade. As the US scales back its Middle East strategy, Washington is reluctant to invest resources and energy in the region and is cautious of getting entangled in regional conflicts. Consequently, its defense commitments to Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations are getting increasingly superficial. More importantly, the US' strategic pivot away from the Middle East for an offshore balancing strategy has intensified regional tensions. Saudi Arabia has not only failed to achieve its expected goals by relying on the US for its own security, but has also been repeatedly harassed by hostile military and political organizations in the region, further damaging its security interests.
There has been a growing trend of peace and reconciliation among Middle Eastern Muslim countries since late 2022. Motivated by national interests, countries including Saudi Arabia have pursued reconciliation with a stance of strategic autonomy. The most iconic event is undoubtedly the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran under the mediation of China. The Saudi-Iranian reconciliation has not only benefited both nations but also greatly accelerated the overall trend toward peace and reconciliation in the region. For Saudi Arabia, achieving regional security through engagement with Iran rather than following the US in camp confrontation is a more viable strategy.
Facts have proved that Saudi Arabia's thinking is correct. Since the Saudi-Iranian reconciliation, the conflicts between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi group in their southwestern border areas have basically disappeared. Saudi Arabia's oil production bases and the western Red Sea coastal areas have not suffered further attacks from non-governmental armed forces, and its security environment has improved significantly. Based on this, Saudi Arabia has not joined the US-led anti-Houthi naval coalition. Now it has actively proposed to hold joint a military exercise with Iran, sending a clear signal to the outside world that Saudi Arabia hopes to have more strategic autonomy in the field of defense.
The choice of the Red Sea as the location for the Saudi-Iranian exercise is also very subtle. The Red Sea is a crucial international shipping route, with its security and stability directly affecting global trade flow and the safety of industrial and supply chains worldwide. However, peace seldom reigns in the region, which has long been plagued by piracy. With the recent escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict , Yemen's Houthi group has expressed support for Gaza and Hamas, launching indiscriminate attacks on commercial vessels with Israel as their destination or with a history of visiting Israel. Meanwhile, the Houthi group has used the Red Sea airspace to launch rockets, ballistic missiles, and drones toward Israel, creating severe security risks for Saudi Arabia and other surrounding nations.
Given that the Houthi group is Iran's ally in the region, the joint exercise between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Red Sea is a joint demarcation of the code of conduct in the Red Sea region by both sides and a clear definition of the status and role of non-state armed organizations such as the Houthi group in the regional security architecture. Saudi Arabia is directly addressing regional non-traditional security threats, rather than avoiding them, and making defense decisions independently in ways that align with its interests. It can be said that this military exercise means the reshaping of Saudi Arabia's own defense and security strategy.
Simultaneously, through this joint exercise with Iran, Saudi Arabia is sending a clear message to all parties that the Red Sea, as a vital international route, must remain free from conflict and instability. By conducting the joint exercise, Saudi Arabia and Iran, as influential regional powers in the Middle East, are reinforcing the current security framework and promoting peace and stability in the region.This is crucial to rebuilding the international community's confidence in peace in the Middle East and will also be conducive to the recovery and prosperity of a series of economic and social activities.
(The author is an assistant researcher at the China Institute of International Studies.)
Editor's note: Originally published on china.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.
