China Iran deepening relations – Burning Issues – Free PDF Download

Why in News

• Iran and China have quietly drafted a sweeping economic and security partnership. The partnership will vastly expand Chinese presence in banking, telecommunications, ports, railways and dozens of other projects. In exchange, China would receive a regular heavily discounted supply of Iranian oil over the next 25 years.

Military Partnership

• The document also describes deepening military cooperation.
• Military partnership includes joint training and exercises, joint research and weapons development and intelligence sharing .
• It will give China a foothold in a region that has been a strategic preoccupation of the United States for decades

Status of Agreement

• The partnership was first proposed by China’s leader, Xi Jinping, during his visit to Iran in 2016.
• President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet approved the bill in June,2020.
• It has not yet been submitted to Iran’s Parliament for approval.

Trump’s Failing Iran Policy

• In 2018, Trump administration abandoned the nuclear deal reached in 2015 by President Barack Obama and the leaders of six other nations after two years of grueling negotiations

Crippled Iranian Economy

• America imposed renewed sanctions on Iran after scraping nuclear deal. Sanctions included the threat to cut off access to the international banking system for any company that does business in Iran.
• It succeeded in suffocating the Iranian economy by scaring away badly needed foreign trade and investment.

Iran in China’s Arms

• Tehran’s desperation has pushed it into the arms of China.
• Iran has been one of the world’s largest oil producers, but its exports, Tehran’s largest source of revenue, have plunged since the US sanctions.
• China proposed heavy investment in Iran in exchange of import of oil from Iran. It puts Iran in win-win situation.

Impact on India

• From the Indian perspective growing Iran China relationship is a reason for worry and changing strategic landscape
• Chahbahar port
• Indo-Afghan relation
• India and world’s oil transit lane

Chabahar Port

• The Chabahar Port is quite near to the Gwadar Port of Pakistan being developed by China.
• Chabahar port will increase India’s presence in a strategically important region of the world.
• It can also closely monitor Chinese developments in the Gwadar Port.
• But presence of China in Iran may jeopardize Indian ambitions.

Indo-Afghan Relations

• Chabahar port is a gateway for India to reach Afghanistan and central Asia.
• From Chabahar, India can connect with the border town of Zaranj in Afghanistan.
• Zaranj-Delram highway constructed by India, can connect it further north to Central Asia and beyond.

Early Signs

• Four years after India and Iran signed an agreement to construct a rail line from Chabahar port to Zahedan, along the border with Afghanistan.
• The Iranian government has decided to proceed with the construction on its own, citing delays from the Indian side in funding and starting the project.
• The development comes as China finalizes a massive 25-year, $400 billion strategic partnership deal with Iran, which could cloud India’s plans.

Oil Transit Lane

• The Strait of Hormuz is among the nine key maritime chokepoints across the world.
• China plans to build several ports in Iran, one of them at Jask, just outside the Gulf of Hormuz, which is the entrance to the Persian Gulf.
• It will give the Chinese a strategic vantage point on the waters through which much of the India’s and world’s oil transits.

• Growing Chinese footsteps in Iran will have a longlasting impact on our relationship with not only Iran but also on Afghanistan and Central Asian nations.
• It will also jeopardise India’s strategic interest in Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.

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