If Kuwait Wants Deeper Military Ties, It Must Demonstrate It Is a Reliable Ally
Kuwait's Army Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Khaled Al-Shuraian, arrived in Washington this week for high-level meetings with Pentagon leaders, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, seeking increased bilateral military relations.
That's a good thing of course.
But before Washington offers yet another round of military training, intelligence partnerships, and defense assurances for the Kuwaitis, it's fair to ask: is Kuwait behaving like a reliable strategic partner, or merely enjoying the benefits of the relationship while drifting toward U.S. competitors?
For decades, Kuwait has greatly benefited enormously from American troops and aid. U.S. forces defended it in the Gulf War, protected it through decades of regional turmoil, and continue to serve as a stabilizing force against Iran and extremist threats.
Yet Kuwait's behavior lately raises the specter of whether it understands the responsibilities that come with being a strategic partner of the U.S. — or whether it's quietly drifting into China’s orbit while still expecting the U.S. to foot the bill for its security.
First Problem: Kuwait Keeps Getting Closer to China
Even as it courts Washington for deeper defense ties, Kuwait continues is simultaneously expanding its economic and — even more concerning — its early-stage military engagement with Beijing.
As Ken Cuccinelli, the senior fellow for Homeland Security at the Center for Renewing America and a former senior Trump Homeland Security Department official, recently reported in an analysis, Kuwait has been expanding energy and infrastructure partnerships with China in ways that undermine U.S. interests and, ultimately, Kuwait’s own sovereignty.
Kuwait has embraced Chinese involvement in sectors Washington traditionally views as strategically sensitive, from technology procurement to energy supply chains to large-scale construction.
In September, Kuwait even launched the "Kuwait-China Friendship Club" and committed to deepening its military ties to the People's Republic, a significant shift for a country dependent on U.S. security guarantees.
History suggests that China is investing in Kuwait to gain leverage — the same kind of leverage it exerts in Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Mideast.
When Beijing becomes a country's preferred business partner, it rarely stops there. Influence over budgets becomes influence over governments.
Influence over governments becomes influence over foreign policy. And suddenly a “U.S. partner” starts voting differently at the United Nations, buying weapons from China, or refusing to uphold commitments to American firms.
That’s how China plays the game. Kuwait must understand this dynamic and yet it is choosing to move closer to the country anyway.
Second Problem: Kuwait’s Economic Debts to the U.S.
Another issue is how Kuwait, once a model of technocratic governance, increasingly seems to be adopting the same slippery practices Beijing uses to pressure Western firms.
Nothing demonstrates this more clearly than the debacle surrounding the massive Al Zour refinery, one of the largest in the Middle East.
Instead of honoring its obligations, Kuwait has allegedly refused to pay hundreds of millions of dollars owed to its contractors.
Washington has noticed.
In an unusually sharp rebuke, Congress inserted explicit language into this year's National Security and State Department appropriations bill calling Kuwait out by name for failing to settle its debts.
Lawmakers directed the secretary of state to "utilize the various tools of diplomatic engagement" to resolve the dispute — Capitol Hill's polite, bipartisan way of saying “enough is enough."
This dispute appears to be becoming a test of whether Kuwait respects its Western economic partners or whether it is veering more towards the opaque, politically influenced financial practices often associated with Chinese-backed megaprojects.
America Should Deepen Its Friendship with Kuwait — But with Conditions
Kuwait has been an ally of the U.S. for a long time, and there is no reason that shouldn’t continue. In fact, the stronger partnership as envisioned by Kuwait would be in the U.S. interest.
However, for this to work, Kuwait must embrace the responsibilities that come with partnering with the U.S. and demonstrate that it takes this partnership seriously by treating American companies fairly and not doing business with U.S. adversaries.
A durable alliance requires reciprocity.
If Kuwait wants deeper military integration, it must realign its economic behavior with its security claims, not with Beijing’s strategic ambitions.
That means resolving economic disputes, increasing transparency in its dealings with China, and signaling clearly that the United States remains its primary strategic anchor — not China.
Horace Cooper previously served as counsel to House Majority Leader Richard K. Armey and is an author and legal commentator who has appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN, as well as in a variety of print publications. Read more of Horace Cooper's reports — here.
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