Document Type : Original Independent Original Article
Authors
1 Associate Professor at Political Geography, Kharazmi University, Tehran.
2 PhD. in Political Geography, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran.
3 PhD. Student of Political Geography, Kharazmi University, Tehran.
Abstract
Highlights
Introduction
According to the Indo-Iranians, Iran was seen as more accessible and friendly during the Islamic revolution, which experienced positive changes, and these positive changes gradually faded due to the change in the approach of Iranian politicians towards Islamism until the 1980s, because Instead of approaching India, this country turned to Pakistan. 1- the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of the central Asian republics; 2- The riots in Afghanistan and the emergence of the Taliban in this country; and 3- the September 11 incident and its consequences are among the cases that had a positive effect on the direction of relations between the two countries. The everlasting enmity of Pakistan and the constant threat of China, as well as the fundamentalist and extremist groups of Afghanistan, including the Taliban and other Islamic extremist groups, have somehow led to the divergence or the lack of positive convergence in foreign relations, as well as the continuous threat from India's neighboring countries, which can enhance the positive direction of Iran-India relations. So, the main question in this paper is, “what is the role of India's geopolitical position in economic convergence with Iran? The results of the research are based on the hypothesis that geopolitical disputes and the lack of convergence of India with its neighbors can cause the formation of economic convergence of that country with Iran.
Methodology
The research methodology is descriptive-analytical and using library resources.
Results and discussion
Geopolitical conflicts and divergence between India and China relations
Economic and trade issues are considered as basic issues for cooperation between India and China. Accordingly, the two countries agreed on economic issues in 1984, so, the "double taxation avoidance" agreement was signed in 1994, and led to the prosperity of trade since then. In 2005, the trade value between the two countries reached from 18.7 billion dollars to 72.4 billion dollars during the fiscal year 2014-2015. However, it should be said that the two countries of India and China are considered "developmental" models for other economically developed countries, and they account for 20%of the world's population.
Border disputes
India and China are two countries have common similarities in demographic and economic aspects; however, despite such commonalities, the development process of their relations has encountered with ups and downs and some issues have caused divergent areas. One of the problems between these two countries is the border disputes. These two countries are connected to each other by a long border, which is divided into three parts by Sikkim of Greece and Nepal, so that it is located between West Pakistan and Burma Himalayas. However, in the last few years, China built a dam on the Yarlung River, which originates from Tibet and flows into the Arunachal Pradesh River, and this caused China to claim ownership of the entire northeastern state of India due to the dam construction, that is also the common border of the two countries. China claims the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Also, India, claimed a swathe of Chinese-controlled territory called Aksai Chin. Therefore, this issue is one of the unsolved border issues that have not been resolved so far. Another dispute goes back to 1914, when the McMahon border line was determined in borders and China, which is the main border length dispute. In addition to these disputes, what caused these two countries to compete with each other was India's idealism to have the permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council, which could not be tolerated by China, and this country was against to the membership and improving the position of India in national organizations. Based on such disputes, the relations between these two countries are improving, but both parties are deeply pessimistic about the strategic benefits. Since 1980, two countries, India and China, have reduced the tension in their relations, so that both countries tried to restore peace and stability in the border areas under their control.
Acquiring nuclear weapons
India and China are among the countries that have nuclear weapons. In 1964 , China conducted the first nuclear test and in 1974, India also achieved this weapon. Nevertheless, on the date of signing the he Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), China was recognized as one of the five nuclear countries in the world, but India did not join. Subsequently, in 1988, after Rajiv Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India paid visit to China, the relationship between India and China also changed and this year was considered a turning point for them. As a result of this trip, in 1988 , India's nuclear test was conducted on May 12 and 13. Therefore, after India conducted a nuclear test, the defense minister of this government, Fernandez, publicly declared that "China is far more dangerous for India than Pakistan." He has referred to China as the “the mother of Ghauri “of Pakistan's puppet. After some speeches, he was hostile towards the Chinese and considered this country as India's number 1 threat and the reason was the encirclement of the Chinese army and naval forces across the border of Myanmar and Tibet (India and Pakistan).
Kashmir conflict
India and Pakistan have had many wars and the main reason of these wars has been Kashmir. In fact, by applying its strict and binding policy, India attempts to acquire Kashmir, which is a part of Pakistan. In fact, the reason for this Indian policy is the large number of Muslims in Kashmir. The most obvious example of a geopolitical crisis is the effect of Kashmir on the intra-regional relations of the Indian subcontinent, because this crisis had a paramount impact compared to other issues of the Indian subcontinent, and this has made the regional space of the Indian subcontinent insecure. Therefore, this conflict is an insoluble dispute that prevents the normalization of relations between the two countries behind Britain.
The river water dispute
Water is one of the most important issues of the current timetable. The wars on water are due to the fact that this important resource is almost finished with the increasing global population and the rise of energy demand. Nevertheless, "several countries have maintained their hegemony over various water reservoirs to secure it for their future needs. India an upper region and Pakistan as a lower coastal state are located in an area in the Indus basin and water distribution. However, hydropolitical disputes over the distribution of river water in South Asia are presented as one of the dimensions of the strategic burden of the disputed areas in the Indian subcontinent. Thus, in 1948, India withheld supply of water to Pakistan, and this worried the people of Pakistan, who thought about a possible scenario in which Jammu and Kashmir would be completely under the control of India. Indeed, in South Asia, the conflict over water resources was so important that it caused the whole world to be concerned about this issue. One of these disputes are: the dispute between India and Pakistan over the Indus River, India and Bangladesh over the Ganges River in Faraka, and India and Nepal over the sharing of the Mahakali river. However, it should be said that most of the debates about the relations between India and Pakistan are inconsistent and are often bitter both in the government and in the media. As it was said, India has violated the agreement with Pakistan by constructing dams in Pakistan's water share.
Conclusion
Considering its important geopolitical position in the region and the very important access to two important water areas, Iran can achieve a win-win strategy with India with correct and fundamental bilateral planning. As one of the growing economies of the world, India attempts to enter the market of Central Asian countries and also Afghanistan. Meanwhile, in terms of proximity and access to Central Asia, India and Afghanistan, Chabahar port is the best option for this country. In addition, the Persian Gulf countries which account for 20% of the world's population are a good market. Therefore, Chabahar port is of great importance for India as it is located in the north-south corridor. On the other hand, given the India's conflicts with Pakistan and China and China's investment in Pakistan and the Gwadar port, all these items can be convincing reasons for India to try to improve its convergent relations with Iran. Also, with India's investment in Chabahar port, Iran can take advantage of its economic benefits, and as this country has encountered many economic problems in Iran and the problems of global isolation imposed on it by the western countries, and disturbing the trading of this country with the world community, it should be expected to enhance this convergent relationship. The neighborhood of India's two enemy and rival countries, especially Pakistan and China, has affected India's geopolitical and geoeconomic calculations. India has decided to invest in Chabahar port in order to keep up with the competition in communication infrastructure with China, because Pakistan, as an ally of China, does not allow India to access West Asia and Central Asia. Here, the India's disputes with China and Pakistan are not enough to facilitate this country's investment in Chabahar port, as an influential factor is involved - America. In order to isolate Iran and put pressure on it to meet its demands in nuclear, missile and regional issues, America does not allow large investments in Iran and doesn’t permit Iran to enter the equations of the region and Central Asia and takes advantage of it.
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