NEW DELHI: An influential foreign policy magazine has said the US is overlooking one of the most interesting geopolitical developments in the region in years: the emergence of India as a major player in West Asia.
An article in Foreign Policy noted the emergence of India as a “major player” in West Asia as one of the most interesting geopolitical developments in the region in years.
“While US officials and analysts are obsessed with every diplomatic move Beijing makes and eye Chinese investment in West Asia with suspicion, Washington is overlooking one of the most interesting geopolitical developments in the region in years: the emergence of India as a major player in West Asia,” wrote its author Steven Cook.
“If the United States’ partners are looking for an alternative to Washington, it is better that New Delhi is among the choices. The US may no longer be the undisputed big dog in the region, but as long as India expands its presence in West Asia, neither Russia nor China can assume that role,” he argued.
The article mentioned India’s deep and growing ties with major countries in the region with Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and said it reflected the changing international order and the willingness of these nations to benefit from the new multipolarity.
A decade ago, India did not want to play a larger role in the Middle East. But since his visit to India 10 years back, India is aggressively seeking to expand ties with the UAE, and Saudi Arabia which had long aligned with Pakistan. The interest of these countries in India is to contain Islamist extremism as much as New Delhi’s economic emergence.
India’s strong ties with Israel, he wrote, are perhaps the most well-developed of its relationships in the region which have expanded under PM Narendra Modi to high tech and defence. PM Modi was also the first Indian head of government to visit Israel in 2017 and his counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu returned the visit in 2018.
“Of course, the India-Israel relationship is complicated. India remains steadfast in its support for the Palestinians; has friendly ties with Iran, from which New Delhi has purchased significant amounts of oil; and Indian elites tend to see Israel through the prism of their country’s own colonial experience,” Cook contended.
On PM Modi’s recent Egypt visit, the article said like the Chinese, the Indians regard Egypt as a gateway through which to send their goods to Africa and Europe.
“And Modi’s visit to Washington in late June was also a love fest, including a state dinner and address to a joint session of Congress,” it said, but added despite all positive vibes, “India may not want to be the strategic partner that the US desires”. On Iran, especially, India diverges sharply from the United States and Israel. But it is “also unlikely that New Delhi will undercut Washington as both Beijing and Moscow have done”, it said.