FPJ Edit: China-Iran bonhomie blow to India

FPJ Edit: China-Iran bonhomie blow to India

EditorialUpdated: Saturday, July 18, 2020, 04:00 AM IST
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President Xi Jinping of China with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei | wikimedia.org

Leaning on the US has brought India some advantages in the behind-the-scene battle with China but it has also soured the pitch in the present context of fast-polarising international politics. Until recently, it appeared that India was playing the balancing act with Iran adroitly, pursuing its goal of keeping the development of strategically-significant Chabahar port intact, and its longstanding oil deal with Iran on course, but unrelenting pressure from the US has pushed India to stop crucial oil imports from Iran and apparently angered the Iranian government. With Beijing looking to strike a mutually-beneficial economic deal with Teheran which would pave the way for a long-term special relationship, India could well find itself in the lurch. The foundation of this upcoming deal between Beijing and Teheran was laid during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Iran in 2016. For Iran, such a deal could throw the embattled country a much-needed economic lifeline.

Iran is already part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and in September 2019 China announced its intent to infuse $400 billion worth of investments in Iran’s oil and gas, infrastructure and transportation sectors. This is a direct challenge to American economic might on a regional and global stage. It also creates new geo-political flash points as Beijing expands its reach around the world, which now includes a base in Djibouti, operations of the Gwadar port in Pakistan, and ever increasing naval port calls across the world. What came as a rude shock for India was the recent Iranian declaration that it may go ahead with building a rail line connecting Chabahar with Zahedan on the Afghan border alone, citing delays in funding from India. This would deal a rude blow to India’s plans to build this line which is a crucial part of New Delhi’s game plan of connecting India and Iran with Afghanistan onward to Europe, bypassing Pakistan, with huge benefits accruing to trade since this would be a short route. While it is clear that China has a hand in the purported abandonment of India’s role in building the rail line, with intensive Indian lobbying, this country can still perhaps persuade Iran to let India build the rail line jointly with the Iranians. There are also reports that the geo-strategically important Kish Island in the Persian Gulf, located at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz may be ‘sold’ to China. India would need to work on how it can prevent such a deal. All in all, the China-Iran bonhomie poses a major challenge to India which it must overcome diplomatically.

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