Saudi Arabia Collaborates With China In Building Ballistic Missiles: Report

Saudi Arabia is collaborating with China to develop and build its own fleet of ballistic missiles, U.S. intelligence agencies have claimed.

Satellite images from Saudi Arabia suggested that the Kingdom is manufacturing the weapons in a complex near Dawadmi using Chinese technology, CNN reported, citing three sources with knowledge of the situation.

The news comes as the Biden administration has been negotiating a new agreement that aims to stop Iran’s weapons manufacturing and nuclear development. Saudi Arabia’s development of its own ballistic missiles could complicate negotiations as Iran, the Kingdom’s top regional rival, has also demanded that other weapons manufacturing programs in the region be included during the discussion for the new nuclear deal.

Saudi Arabia has previously purchased China-made ballistic missiles, but was believed to never have made its own before, according to the outlet.

The images, taken by Planet, a commercial imaging company, between Oct. 26 and Nov. 9, showed a burn pit at the facility near Dawadmi, Saudi Arabia, that researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies said was evidence of missile production.

According to the CNN report, little is known about the ballistic missiles that the Kingdom is said to be building at the site, including crucial details like range and payload.

China has yet to confirm any recent transfers of sensitive ballistic missile technology to Saudi Arabia. However, a spokesperson for the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said both countries are “strategic partners” and “have maintained friendly cooperation in all fields,” the outlet reported.

"Such cooperation does not violate any international law and does not involve the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia severed its ties with Iran after a group of protesters attacked and set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran in 2016. The attack came after Saudi Arabia executed Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on terrorism charges after he called out the government’s treatment of the Shia minority.

Saudi Arabia is also engaged in a war with Yemen where Houthi rebels have repeatedly launched attacks on the country using drones and weaponry. The war has already resulted in the deaths of more than 10,000 people since Saudi Arabia first launched a military offensive in 2015, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Biden administration may sanction some organizations for the transfers of ballistic missile tech between Saudi Arabia and China, but may not be willing to impose any on the Saudi government for its recent actions, CNN cited multiple sources as saying.