Daily Editorial Analysis for 24th August 2022

  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Editorial Analysis August 2022
  4. »
  5. Daily Editorial Analysis for 24th August 2022

Reinvigorating the Chabahar port

GS Paper 2: International Relations
Important For:
Prelims exam: Chabahar Port location
Mains exam: Importance of Chabahar Port for India
Why in News
After months of what appeared to be a “go-slow”, the Union government has revved up its interest in using Iran’s Chabahar port to connect to Afghanistan and Central Asia for trade, with the visit of the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways.

Why is Chabahar back in the news?

• The recent visit of the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways to Iran would be a chance to “strengthen ties and the maritime relationship” between the two countries.
• Due to the pandemic, there were less number of visits from India to Iran and vice-versa. This visit will also highlight the importance of Chabahar as a gateway for Indian trade with Europe, Russia and CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] countries.
What is India’s strategic vision for Chabahar?
• When the first agreement for Chabahar was signed by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2003, the plan had a three-fold objective:
o to build India’s first offshore port and to project Indian infrastructure prowess in the Gulf;

o to circumvent trade through Pakistan, given the tense ties with India’s neighbour and build a long term, sustainable sea trade route;
o to find an alternative land route to Afghanistan, which India had rebuilt ties with after the defeat of the Taliban in 2001.
• Subsequently, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s government constructed the Zaranj -Delaram Highway in Afghanistan’s South, which would help connect the trade route from the border of Iran to the main trade routes to Herat and Kabul, handing it over to the Karzai government in 2009.
• In 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Tehran and signed the agreement to develop Chabahar port, as well as the trilateral agreement for trade through Chabahar with Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani.
Recent developments
• In the last few years, a fourth strategic objective for the Chabahar route has appeared, with China’s Belt and Road Initiative making inroads in the region.
• The government hopes to provide Central Asia with an alternate route to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through Iran for future trade.
Linking with International North South Trade Corridor (INSTC)
• Speaking a few days earlier on the occasion of a “Chabahar Day” function in Mumbai, Union minister for ports said that it is India’s vision to make the Shahid Beheshti port a “a transit hub” and link it to the International North South Trade Corridor (INSTC), that also connects to Russia and Europe.
Why is the Chabahar dream taking so long to realise?
• Iran’s relationship with western countries: Since the beginning, the development of the Shahid Beheshti terminal in Chabahar as well as surrounding infrastructure has hit geopolitical road-block after road-block; the biggest issue has been over Iran’s relationship with western countries, especially the United States.
• US sanctions on Iran: In years when western sanctions against Iran increased, the Chabahar project has been put on the back-burner.
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA): While in the years when nuclear talks that resulted in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2015 came into being, the Chabahar port has been easier to work on.
o In 2018, the U.S. Trump administration put paid to India’s plans by walking out of the JCPOA and slapping new sanctions on dealing with Iran. This led to the Modi government “zeroing out” all its oil imports from Iran, earlier a major supplier to India, causing a strain in ties.
o Despite the fact that the U.S. made a special “carve-out” on sanctions for Chabahar, on the ground, it has been difficult to source equipment for the port construction from infrastructure companies that continue to fear secondary sanctions, as well as to engage shipping and insurance companies for trade through Chabahar.
The Taliban’s capturing the power: The government also snapped ties with Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021, which put an end to the humanitarian aid of wheat and pulses that was being sent to Kabul via Chabahar. When India restarted wheat aid to Afghanistan this year, it negotiated with Pakistan to use the land route instead.

Conclusion

With the government now reopening the Indian Embassy in Kabul, and establishing ties with the Taliban government, it is possible that the Chabahar route will once again be employed, another reason for the recent flurry of activity at the Iranian port terminal that India has pinned so many hopes on.[/fusion_text][/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

Current Affairs

Recent Posts