How India's deal to manage Iran's Chabahar Port can help it counter Pakistan, China

India is getting ready to counter China and Pakistan – by tying up with Iran.

New Delhi is set to enter into an agreement with Tehran to manage the Chabahar Port in southeastern Iran.

Economic Times reported that shipping minister Sarbananda Sonowal will travel to Iran today to ink the 10-year deal.

This is the first time India will be managing a port overseas, as per the report.

But what is the significance of this port? Can it be India’s answer to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port  and China’s Belt and Road Initiative?

Let’s take a closer look:

What is it?

The Chabahar Port is located in Iran’s Sistan-Balochistan province.

According to The Times of India, it is viewed as a crucial cog in linking India to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and the larger Eurasian region.

India wants the port to be a key hub in the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC).

The INSTC connects India and Russia via Iran.

It is a 7,200-kilometre multi-mode transport project for moving freight among India, Iran, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.

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The INSTC gained importance amid the conflict in Ukraine.

New Delhi has been pushing both the INSTC and the Chabahar Port to boost regional connectivity.

According to Business Standard, India and Iran first began discussing the port in 2003.

It took India another decade to finally invested $100 million in the port.

The vital step on the port was finally taken in 2016.

This occurred during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran.

India at the time also committed to financing the development of the Shahid Beheshti terminal to the tune of $85 million.

In 2018, then Iran president Hassan Rouhani had expounded on increasing India’s involvement in the port.

India and Iran have frequently discussed the port in high-level exchanges, as per Business Standard.

Why is it important?

Because of its prime location on the Gulf of Oman at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz.

According to The Diplomat, the Chabahar Port is Iran’s only deep-sea port with direct access to the ocean.

Interestingly, it is also exempt from US sanctions – which makes it an attractive prospect not just for India but other nations as well.

As per The Times of India, central Asian nations such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have articulated their willingness to use Chabahar to get their goods into the Indian Ocean Region and the Indian market.

It will also help Indian traders and investors get access to central Asia.

The Peninsula.org noted that the Chabahar Port allows India to cut the time it takes to send goods to central Asia by a third.

As per India Today, the Chabahar Port will boost India’s import of iron ore, sugar and rice.

It also gives India access by road to four Afghanistan cities – Herat, Kandahar, Kabul, and Mazar-e-Sharif.

It stands to reason that better connectivity with Afghanistan could thus lead to improved diplomatic relations.

The port can also be used as a pushing off point from which humanitarian operations can be conducted.

The development also comes at a time when the crisis in West Asia is reaching a fever pitch.

Hamas’ attack on Israel and Jerusalem’s response has led to key trade routes being disrupted and has shone a light on the need to improve regional connectivity.

Counter to Pakistan and China?

But arguably the port’s most important feature is serving as India’s counter to the Pakistan’s Gwadar Port and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.

As per India Today, using the port allows India to cut Pakistan out of the loop while sending its goods directly to Afghanistan.

“The easiest routes for India to Central Asia and Russia are through Pakistan and Afghanistan. The next best is through Iran, which borders Central Asia and the Caspian Sea. Even as India sought access to Afghanistan, it was also looking at what was called the INSTC, which would take it to Russia and the European territories_,” Indian Express_ quoted Raja Mohan as saying.

As The Diplomat piece noted, “…India has been severely hindered in establishing land-based trading with countries to its west, as virtually all of those routes would have to go through Pakistan, India’s archrival. Establishing a sea-based trade route to Western and Central Asia via Chabahar Port would allow India to bypass Pakistan and establish trade networks with the countries in these regions.”

The port became even more important for India after China included the Gwadar Port as part of its BRI.

The port could also be of use to India if China stations its vessels in Gwadar Port – which is less than 400 kilometres away by road and 100 kilometres by sea.

The Peninsula.org piece also pointed out that the Chabahar Port also serves India’s goal of countering China’s attempts to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean.

“The competition for regional dominance between India and China can be seen in the development of ports in the regions,” the piece noted.

The Diplomat piece also noted how New Delhi and Tehran coming closer together could prove a counterweight to China and Pakistan’s ‘all-weather friendship.’

“India’s involvement with Chabahar Port, then, serves as a key strategy to buttress its superpower status by widening its regional market presence and using an Indo-Iranian alliance to buffer China and particularly Sino-Pakistani cooperation,” the piece stated.

‘India-Iran can overcome challenges’

While India’s development of Chabahar Port could be impacted by deteriorating US-Iran ties – especially if Donald Trump returns to the White House, opportunities remain.

Indian Express quoted Ali Omidi and Gauri Noolkar-Oak of the University of Isfahan in Iran as noting in their paper Geopolitics of Chabahar port for Iran, India and Afghanistan, “The Chabahar project comes with its challenges, mainly susceptibility to American sanctions and pressures, the volatility and continuing uncertainties in Afghanistan, and the seeming incompatibility with the BRI. However, through active and visionary diplomacy and efficient implementation and operations of the project, Iran and India can overcome these challenges and should be able to maintain the Chabahar project as a viable transit hub and link.”

Iranian ambassador Iraj Elahi in February said the development of the port as a “golden gateway” connecting the countries in the Indian Ocean region to Central Asia is a significant example of India-Iran engagement.

“The cooperation of the two countries in the development of Chabahar Port, as the golden gateway connecting the countries along the Indian Ocean to Central Asia and the Caucasus, and the cooperation in the INSTC are important examples of the growing cooperation,” Elahi said at an event marking the 45th anniversary of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

With inputs from agencies