But if the US has the world’s most imposing military, then China is uniquely accomplished at military industrial espionage.
Some claim virtually all of Beijing’s military advances are the result of intellectual property theft from the US, and experts who spoke to The Telegraph widely believed the dangers set out in the Pentagon’s report are credible.
There are two ways that China could get hold of Riyadh’s F-35 secrets, according to Jon Hoffman, a research fellow with the Cato Institute who opposes the Saudis joining the programme.
The first is “good-old fashioned espionage”. The second is the risk that, despite MBS’ chummy display with Mr Trump on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia would still be willing to hand over military secrets to China to “curry favour with Beijing”.
“Either way it’s concerning,” Dr Hoffman added.
‘National security must always come first’
The Middle East has been accused of playing the US and China off against each other in the past. In 1993, James Woolsey, the CIA director at the time, told Congress Israel had been selling American secrets to Beijing for decades.
As recently as 2013, a Pentagon investigation concluded that Israel had sent secret technology used in missiles and drones to China.
“Selling F-35s to Saudi Arabia without ironclad safeguards risks handing some of America’s most prized military technology straight to the Chinese Communist Party,” Raja Krishnamoorthi, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives’ CCP committee, told The Telegraph.
“Our national security – and the security of our servicemembers – must always come first.”
A letter seen by The Telegraph from senior congressional Democrats, including Mr Krishnamoorthi, to Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, and Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, warns the deal poses “serious risks” to US national security.
