The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement will likely strengthen regional security autonomy, improve defense coordination and expand into a broader framework that, while stopping short of a deeply integrated and full-scale military alliance, prompts counterbalancing by other regional powers and intensifies regional proxy competition. On Aug. 13, Turkey’s defense ministry stated that Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will convene senior ministers, hold joint military drills and strengthen cooperation among their defense industries as part of their new “Mecca Joint Defense Agreement,” signed on Aug. 7. Turkey’s defense ministry added that the trilateral defence pact’s goal was to ensure that security, military and defense ties were put on a “more institutional and sustainable footing.” The accord stipulates that an armed attack against any of its three members would be regarded as an attack on all, similar to NATO’s Article 5 collective defense clause.