The F-35 Gambit: Western Imperialism's Latest Move to Control the Persian Gulf and Constrain the Global South

The Geopolitical Chessboard: Understanding the Recent Developments

The recent announcement of the United States’ sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, valued at approximately $142 billion, represents more than a mere arms transaction—it signifies a fundamental recalibration of power dynamics in the Persian Gulf and beyond. This development, occurring just two months after the Saudi-Pakistan Mutual Defense Agreement (SMDA) signed on September 17, 2025, creates a new security architecture that threatens to alter regional balances in ways that disproportionately benefit Western imperial interests while undermining the sovereignty and development trajectories of Global South nations.

The timing of these developments is particularly telling. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s November 18, 2025 visit to Washington served as more than a diplomatic formality—it was a strategic maneuver that positioned Riyadh as a regional security manager exercising broker-style leadership. During this visit, bin Salman carried a letter from Iranian officials for President Trump, discussed regional developments including the Gaza crisis, and even requested U.S. intervention in Sudan. These actions demonstrate Saudi Arabia’s ambition to position itself as a regional coordinator, albeit one operating within a framework largely dictated by American strategic interests.

The Technical and Strategic Dimensions of the F-35 Deal

From a technical standpoint, the F-35 sale represents a significant advancement in Saudi Arabia’s military capabilities. The fifth-generation fighter jets come with sophisticated command and control systems, operational coordination mechanisms, and intelligence support ecosystems that are tightly controlled by the United States. This control mechanism ensures that while Saudi Arabia gains enhanced military capacity, it remains fundamentally integrated into the U.S. security governance network. The jets’ advanced stealth capabilities, sensor fusion, and network-centric warfare features theoretically provide Saudi Arabia with qualitative air superiority in the region.

However, the article correctly notes that operational capacity remains limited without comprehensive U.S. support. Saudi Arabia will require extensive training, maintenance infrastructure, and skilled personnel to effectively utilize these advanced systems. This creates opportunities for Pakistan, with its extensive experience in air force operations and historical role in Saudi military training since 1967, to play a supporting role. Yet Pakistan’s involvement will be constrained by U.S. restrictions, particularly regarding access to sensitive technology that Washington fears could be transferred to China.

The Regional Security Architecture: A New Order Emerging

The combination of U.S. leadership, Saudi Arabia’s F-35 capabilities, and Pakistan’s role as security partner creates what the article describes as a new regional security order. This order maintains the United States as its primary architect while allowing Pakistan to play a strategic deterrent role. The explicit purpose of this arrangement appears to be countering both China and Iran, with a focus on air deterrence and shared security rather than establishing a formal military alliance.

This development has particular significance for South Asia. Pakistan emerges as what the article terms a “security broker of the Persian Gulf,” gaining strategic weight through its perceived increased deterrence capabilities. However, this enhanced role comes with strings attached—Pakistan’s behavior must align with Saudi priorities, whether in competition with Iran, coordination with the U.S., or leadership within the Sunni world. The September 17 mutual defense agreement gives Riyadh significant influence over Islamabad’s strategic decisions, potentially reducing Pakistan’s incentives to lean further toward Beijing in certain circumstances.

The Imperial Design: Analyzing Western Strategic Objectives

When we examine these developments through the lens of anti-imperialist analysis, a disturbing pattern emerges. The F-35 sale and accompanying defense arrangements represent a sophisticated form of neo-colonialism designed to maintain Western hegemony while giving the appearance of regional empowerment. The United States, through this transaction, effectively tethers Saudi Arabia more tightly to its security umbrella, creating what the article describes as a “senior non-NATO partner” status for Riyadh.

This arrangement serves multiple imperial objectives simultaneously. First, it enhances U.S. airpower projection in the region without requiring additional American troop presence. Second, it creates shared intelligence and operational networks that feed valuable regional data back to U.S. command structures. Third, it fosters strategic alignment between Saudi Arabia and Israel under the U.S. security umbrella, continuing the pattern established by the Abraham Accords. Fourth, and perhaps most significantly, it serves to curb Saudi Arabia’s natural economic and strategic leaning toward China, despite Beijing’s $288 billion trade relationship with Gulf Arab states—nearly four times the U.S. figure of $77 billion.

The concern expressed by U.S. officials about potential Chinese access to F-35 technology through Riyadh-Islamabad cooperation reveals the underlying anxiety about China’s growing influence. Former Deputy Commander of EUCOM General Charles Wald’s comments about China potentially obtaining technical details for its own fifth-generation fighter programs highlight the technological containment aspect of this deal. This demonstrates how arms sales become tools in broader geopolitical competition, with the Global South nations often becoming pawns in great power games.

Impact on Civilizational States: India and China in the Crosshairs

For India, these developments send a clear message that Pakistan can now play a more active role in what might be termed a “Gulf security axis.” New Delhi may need to carefully calibrate its defense relations with Gulf countries, though the article correctly notes that India views its relations with Gulf Arabs primarily through the lens of China and energy economics rather than Pakistan. India’s trade with Gulf countries reached over $178 billion in 2024–2025, representing significant economic interdependence that cannot be easily disrupted by military arrangements.

China faces a more direct challenge through these developments. The U.S.-Saudi-Pakistan alignment creates a notable military-layer challenge without immediately compromising Beijing’s substantial economic influence. China’s investments in regional energy, infrastructure, and technology have created deep interdependencies that cannot be easily undone by military hardware transfers. However, the creation of a security architecture explicitly designed to counter Chinese influence represents an escalation in the containment strategies employed by Western powers.

The Human Cost of Militarization: A Critical Perspective

Beyond the geopolitical calculations, we must consider the human dimension of these developments. The $142 billion spent on F-35 fighter jets represents resources that could have been directed toward human development, poverty alleviation, healthcare, education, and sustainable infrastructure—not only in Saudi Arabia but throughout the region. Instead, these funds will be channeled into weapons systems that ultimately serve Western corporate interests (Lockheed Martin, the F-35 manufacturer, being a primary beneficiary) while potentially escalating regional tensions.

The focus on military solutions to political challenges reflects the bankrupt philosophy of security through superiority rather than security through cooperation. True regional stability would be better achieved through diplomatic engagement, economic cooperation, and cultural exchange rather than through advanced weapon systems that create new dependencies and potential flashpoints.

Conclusion: Resisting Imperial Designs, Asserting Strategic Autonomy

The F-35 sale to Saudi Arabia and the accompanying defense arrangements with Pakistan represent a sophisticated attempt to maintain Western dominance in a changing world order. While dressed in the language of regional security and partnership, these developments ultimately serve to constrain the natural growth and strategic autonomy of Global South nations, particularly civilizational states like India and China that challenge Western hegemony.

The nations of the Global South must recognize these maneuvers for what they are—updated versions of colonial-era divide-and-rule strategies. True security and development will come not from aligning with imperial powers or purchasing their weapon systems, but from asserting strategic autonomy, strengthening South-South cooperation, and building relationships based on mutual respect rather than dependency.

As thinkers committed to human dignity and opposed to all forms of imperialism, we must critique these developments while advocating for alternative security architectures based on cooperation rather than containment, development rather than militarization, and mutual respect rather than hegemony. The future of the Global South depends on our ability to see through these imperial designs and chart our own course toward genuine multipolarity and shared prosperity.