The recent international situation is becoming more and more tense, and small ideas in many countries are gradually emerging.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan appear to be a bilateral alliance, and in reality hide the ambition to push the global pattern.
When Saudi prince Salman signed a “Alliance for Alliance” agreement with Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif, a scandal involving nuclear deterrence, military-industrial games and geo-reconstruction was silently unfolding.
The deadly bargaining chip behind the nuclear pact
On September 17, 2025, at the signing ceremony of the Royal Palace in Riyadh, a document that changed the security landscape in the Middle East was born.
The "Common Strategic Defense Agreement" signed by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan clearly stipulates: "An attack on any party will be regarded as a common aggression against both countries."
To surprise other countries, the Pakistani Defense Minister added: “The Pakistani nuclear program will support Saudi Arabia if necessary.”
This statement made Israel feel on pins and needles. Pakistan, which has 160 nuclear warheads, publicly included Saudi Arabia in the "nuclear umbrella" for the first time. It will have to weigh it carefully if it wants to provoke Saudi Arabia in the future.
In recent years, the strategic credibility of the United States in the Middle East has continued to decline. When Israel launched air strikes in Qatar, the US military base was close at hand but remained indifferent. After the killing of Saudi journalist Khashoggi, the United States only imposed symbolic sanctions.
Saudi Arabia has gradually realized that its security commitment to rely solely on the United States can no longer safeguard its own interests, and Pakistan, the only country in the Islamic world that has nuclear deterrence, has filled this void.
But the text does not refer directly to nuclear weapons, but uses a vague expression of “covering all military means.”
This diplomatic discourse avoids direct stimulus from the International Atomic Energy Agency and gives Saudi Arabia a strategic ambiguity.
$20 billion in betting.
Saudi Arabia has divided its military aid to Pakistan, with the initial $5 billion invested explicitly for the procurement of J-35A invisible fighters and Red Flag 19 missile defense systems.
Subsequently, the three-dimensional model of “funds, technology, production capacity” will support the upgrading of the Pakistani defense industry.The use of funds is strictly supervised by institutions such as the Saudi Development Foundation, to both strategic binding and decentralized risk.
At the same time, Pakistan purchased the Hongqi 9BE air defense system through Saudi funds, and plans to station in Saudi Arabia in the form of a military contingent to perform defense tasks, forming a "curve defense" model of "personnel flow and permanent equipment".
According to the U.S."Section 2375", if Pakistan directly transfers U.S. -made equipment to Saudi Arabia, weapons such as F16 may trigger sanctions. However, through the task force model, Pakistan only uses Chinese equipmentExecution of the task avoided U.S. jurisdiction.
It not only avoids the risk of sanctions, but also provides substantial security protection for Saudi Arabia to deal with the threat of Iranian missiles and Houthi armed drones.
Saudi Arabia’s goal is not only to bypass the United States, but to obtain Chinese equipment through Pakistan, weakening its reliance on the U.S.-based “patriot” “Thad” system, and driving the Middle East’s defence diversification.
Red Flag 19's radar coverage can reach the entire territory of Israel, and its anti-missile capabilities pose a challenge to Israel's "Iron Dome" and "David's Sling" multi-layer defense systems.
The combination of the J-35A and Red Flag 19 will effectively curb Iranian drone and missile attacks and strengthen Saudi’s strategic initiative in the Persian Gulf.
The cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan has also had some impact on the situation in South Asia. After Pakistan obtains Saudi funds, the deployment of the J-35A and Hongqi-19 will make it difficult for India. Technological advantages, which may trigger India to accelerate the purchase of S-500 and Rafale-M fighter jets.
China uses Pakistan as a "bridge" and China's military industry system is deeply involved in Middle East affairs, and may further export equipment to United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other countries in the future.
China's military industry broke the Middle East
Among the projects funded by Saudi Arabia, equipment such as Hongqi 9BE and Air Police 500 all come from China.
Saudi Arabia demands that the military-industrial production lines established by Pakistan must adopt Chinese standards and technology systems.This “curve cooperation” model allows Chinese military industry to open up the high-end arms market in the Middle East without directly touching the U.S. Red Line.
China’s strategic wisdom is also reflected in the layout of the industrial chain, for example, Pakistan’s direct 10ME armed helicopter, equipped with a CM-502KG airborne missile and a guided infrared interference system, has a combined performance that far outperforms India’s U.S. Apache helicopter.
The formation of this technological surplus stems from China’s decades-long “all-chain assistance” to Pakistan, from production line construction to personnel training, from technology transfer to military transformation.
Saudi Arabia supplies Pakistan with cheap oil in exchange for its military support, while Pakistan uses Chinese military technology to boost its voice in the Middle East.
This “oil, security, technology” triangle is shaking the foundations of the U.S.-led Middle East order.
As the US$10 billion refining project signed by China Ordnance Industry Group and Saudi Aramco shows: China has shifted from purely arms exports to the coordinated deployment of energy and military industry in the Shaanxi Province Defense Science and Technology Industry Office.
Summary
The signature of the Saudi alliance marks the traditional model of Saudi Arabia saying goodbye to “oil dollar, American protection.”
Through trilateral cooperation with Pakistan and China, Saudi Arabia is trying to build a new Middle East order that is "security-independent, technologically independent, and economically diverse."
As the history of the growth of the reputation in the middle of the "Tiangong Eight" shows: external support is important, and self-power is the foundation of self-reliance.
Although Saudi Arabia has repeatedly stressed that it "will not sacrifice economic and trade cooperation with India," the United States 'control over Saudi Arabia's petrodollar system cannot be underestimated. If Saudi Arabia relies too much on China technology, it may trigger financial sanctions from the United States, which in turn threatens its economic foundation.
The end game of the Middle East chess game is not yet clear, but the Sabah Alliance's breaking move has rewritten the rules of the game.
Edited by: Wood
Source: Xinhua Network (Saudi Arabia and Pakistan sign joint strategic defense agreement)