Mahmoud Barakat
24 April 2016•Update: 09 May 2016
By Yusuf Hatip
ISLAMABAD
An ongoing rivalry between China and India for maritime influence in South Asia could eventually lead to military escalation.
For one, both countries are competing for influence in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the narrow body of water linking the Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf.
China and India have long enjoyed considerable influence in the strait: the former is a major investor in Pakistan’s Gwadar deep-sea port, while the latter is a major investor in Iran’s Port of Chabahar.
Both ports enjoy considerable geostrategic importance in the region because of their relative proximity to the Strait of Hormuz and because they both serve as links between the Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East regions.
The Gwadar and Chabahar ports together account for the movement of roughly two thirds of the world’s total oil traffic, with an average of 18 billion barrels of crude oil passing through the two ports daily.
In 2013, the China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) bought the right to operate the Gwadar Port for a 40-year-period.
China wants the Gwadar Port to become an alternative to the Malacca Strait (the stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra), which could potentially be blocked by India.
Within the same context, Beijing and Islamabad have signed some $46 billion worth of agreements in both the energy and infrastructure sectors.
India, for its part, had long wanted to invest in Iran’s Chabahar port, but longstanding economic sanctions on the Islamic republic -- finally lifted last year -- had served to hinder these hopes.
In May, however, Iran and India signed an $85-million agreement giving the latter the right to develop the port -- thereby significantly bolstering its capacity -- by the end of 2016.
India hopes its investments in the Chabahar Port will allow it to benefit from Iran’s and Afghanistan’s copious energy resources.
New Delhi ultimately hopes to import gas and oil from Central Asia, to which it wants to export cars, computers and technology in return.
Escalation fears
It is important to note that one of China’s first military priorities is to establish itself as the "unrivaled naval power" in the Indian Ocean.
In this regard, some observers have warned, the intense economic rivalry currently underway between China and India -- particularly the struggle over maritime influence -- could eventually take on a military aspect.
