Acknowledgements

This Whitehall Paper examines the ongoing rapprochement between Gulf and Asian states, explaining how this current trend can be characterised as a case of strategic hedging. The initial idea behind this research came to me in spring 2012 when I flew for the first time to Abu Dhabi as a NATO official. It is only then, when confronted with the physical reality of the Asian presence in the Gulf, that I started investigating the topic and writing several publications. Later, the perplexity and bewilderment with which NATO decision-makers usually responded when I made the case for a better understanding of Gulf–Asian relations definitely convinced me that there was an urgent need for a strategic analysis of the topic. Throughout the process of writing this paper, I have been fortunate to receive support and advice from many scholars and practitioners based in the Gulf, Asia, Europe and the US. Specifically, I would like to express my gratitude to Frederic Grare, Fatiha Dazi-Heni and Jonathan Fulton, who generously took the time to review earlier drafts of the manuscripts and provided precious comments that enabled me to clarify and strengthen my argument. Finally, I am deeply grateful for the support of the Royal United Services Institute. Malcolm Chalmers and Emma De Angelis believed in the initial proposal and supported me to turn it into a Whitehall Paper. I thank the two anonymous reviewers for their helpful and constructive comments that greatly contributed to improving this final version. Obviously, the shortcomings of this paper are my own. The views expressed here are strictly mine and do not reflect the views of the UAE National Defense College.