Navigating Power: Joint Naval Exercises as a Lens Into China–Gulf Relations

Abstract

This article investigates joint naval exercises (JNEs) between China and seven littoral states of the Gulf as a prism through which to examine shifting alignments in a global order in flux. These questions have become only more salient in light of the US–Israel–Iran war. In a region long shaped by U.S.-led security structures, JNEs with China, described by the U.S. as a ‘pacing challenge’, raise questions about the Gulf states’ evolving strategic orientations. Drawing on original open-source data and a newly compiled dataset of all JNEs involving Gulf states from 2000 to 2025, the article offers a quantitative and qualitative assessment of China’s role as a security actor in the region. By comparing the number and frequency of JNEs conducted by China with those of other external powers – including the U.S., U.K., France, Japan, South Korea, and Russia – it evaluates whether China’s growing global and regional stature has translated into meaningful security partnerships in the Gulf. Based on the findings, we argue that while Gulf states have increasingly pursued economic and political ties with China, the limited number of JNEs with these actors underscores the enduring predominance of U.S. and Western security partnerships. These findings shed light on the instrumental and performative nature of JNEs in the Gulf and particularly in relation to China-Gulf ties, as well as contribute to broader debates over multipolarity, alignment, and strategic signalling in the Global South and beyond.