CAIRO/TOKYO — The U.S.-China competition for influence is rapidly heating up in the Middle East, as Chinese forces conduct air exercises with Egypt, a longtime security partner of Washington.
China and Egypt earlier this month launched what they call Eagles of Civilization 2025, featuring fighter jets, tankers, airborne early warning and control aircraft and helicopters. A spokesperson for the Egyptian Armed Forces said on their website that the first joint drills of their kind aim to unify combat concepts through lectures, along with “joint aerial sorties, planning exercises and simulated air combat management operations.”
