2025年9月18日，上外中东研究所刘中民教授就沙特与巴基斯坦签署防务协议接受Global Times采访（见Global Times2025年9月19日第3版），全文如下：
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan sign mutual defense pact; move ‘both a response to heightened regional tensions and a culmination of partnership’
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on Wednesday signed a formal mutual defense pact pledging that any attack on either nation would be considered an attack on both, in a move that significantly strengthens a decades-long security partnership amid heightened regional tensions.
The enhanced defense ties come as Gulf Arab states grow increasingly wary about the reliability of the US as their longstanding security guarantor. Israel's attack on Qatar last week heightened those concerns, Reuters reported.
The weighty agreement states that any aggression against either country shall be considered an aggression against both, according to a statement issued by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad, per AP.
Pakistani state television showed Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, hugging each other with a smile after signing the agreement. In attendance was Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, regarded as the country's most powerful person, media reported.
Reuters said the pact could shift the strategic calculus in a complex region, as Gulf states have sought to stabilize ties with both Iran and Israel to resolve longstanding security concerns but the attempts were upended with the Gaza war, with Gulf state Qatar subjected to direct hits twice in a year, once by Iran, which attacked the US' Al Udeid airbase in Qatar in retaliation against US strikes on Iran, and another by Israel.
The agreement between the two nations comes two days after an extraordinary joint session between the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) was called, in the wake of Israel's attack on the Qatari capital Doha on September 9. Arab and Islamic nations widely condemned Israel's attack, which targeted members of Hamas's political leadership as they gathered to discuss a US-backed ceasefire proposal, reported Al Jazeera.
However, the two sides stressed that the defense pact is a culmination of years of discussions, not a response to specific countries or specific events, a senior Saudi official said when asked about its timing, according to the Reuters report.
When asked whether the mutual defense pact included the use of Pakistan's nuclear weapons if necessary, a senior Saudi official said, This is a comprehensive defensive agreement that encompasses all military means, the Al Jazeera report said.
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan's newly signed defense pact is seen by Chinese experts as both a response to immediate regional tensions and a culmination of their long-standing strategic partnership.
The agreement's core clause—treating an attack on one as an attack on both—resembles a security guarantee found in formal alliance treaties - For Saudi Arabia, it signals a move to bolster its own security; for Pakistan, it also serves as a counterbalance to India, Liu Zhongmin, a professor from the Middle East Studies Institute of Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Thursday.
While the timing of the deal follows Israel's strike on Qatar, the pact is less a direct reaction to that event and more a reflection of decades-long close Saudi-Pakistani ties, said Zhu Yongbiao, the executive director of the Research Center for the Belt and Road at Lanzhou University. Zhu noted that Riyadh has long provided Islamabad with economic, cultural, and humanitarian support, and the agreement represents a natural maturation and upgrade of this relationship rather than the product of a single crisis.
Zhu referred to several factors explaining Riyadh's choice of Islamabad as a key partner. For one, the two countries have maintained consistently close ties and regular strategic coordination. For another, Pakistan is a major South Asian nation with a predominantly Muslim population, wielding significant influence in the Islamic world. Crucially, it is also a nuclear power with a relatively balanced and mature foreign policy, making it a uniquely valuable ally for Saudi Arabia.
For Riyadh, deepening cooperation with Pakistan strengthens its influence not only in the Middle East but also across the wider Muslim world, while extending its reach into South Asia, Zhu told the Global Times on Thursday.
Liu believes that Pakistan's nuclear capability combined with Saudi Arabia's regional clout could help, on a political front, to offset Israel's recent expansionist posture and give Arab states greater diplomatic leverage. Still, the expert cautioned against overstating its impact.
Israel's primary focus remains on nearby fronts such as Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, and a broader confrontation with Gulf states remains unlikely. The US also continues to play a restraining role in the region, Liu noted.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have enjoyed close trade and military ties going back decades. Since 1967, Pakistan has trained more than 8,200 Saudi armed forces personnel, and the two sides have also held several joint military exercises, per media reports.
Upon the signing of the pact, the senior Saudi official emphasized his country's relationship with India remained strong. Our relationship with India is more robust than it has ever been. We will continue to grow this relationship and seek to contribute to regional peace whichever way we can, the official said.
In response to the move, India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Thursday that the pact formalizes a long-standing arrangement between the two countries, and India will study the implications of this development for our national security as well as for regional and global stability.
来源：Global Times
（本文观点仅为作者或被访者个人观点，不代表本研究机构立场）
