India, Aug. 13 -- Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed a defence agreement on August 7 in Mecca, Islam's holiest city, stating that an attack against any of the three countries will be regarded as an assault on them all. The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement comes amid growing doubts about the US as a security provider, even as Saudi Arabia signed a civilian nuclear pact with Washington in July.

In 1963, the then-Saudi Crown Prince Faisal told US ambassador Parker T Hart that "after Allah, we trust America," underlining the depth of their relationship. The Saudi-US ties remain strong, but successive US administrations have sought to reduce their involvement in West Asia. President Donald Trump has vocally articulated the need for allies...