Respond to West Asia’s call for peace
Hadi government in Yemen, Abdulmalik Abduljalil Al Mekhlafi, is pursuing positions in line with the US approach.
This assessment makes little sense. From the Indian perspective, conflict in West Asia would be a very dangerous development since it would jeopardise its interests in terms of its energy security, trade and investment prospects, and the welfare of its eight million-strong community in the region.
India has no reason to share the US’ hostility towards Iran: The US position is largely a product of domestic US interest groups, particularly the neo-cons and politicians beholden to them. India, on the other hand, knows that Iran is both the target of and the enemy of jihad.
Iran is crucial for India’s strategic interests: The Chabahar port enhances India’s regional, economic and political presence, balancing as it does the Chinese at Gwadar, just 80 km away. Again, road and rail links from Chabahar will connect India with Afghanistan, Central Asia, and, through the International North-South Transport Corridor, even Russia and west Europe. These connectivities will balance China’s Belt and Road Initiative and make India a role-player in Central Asian and Eurasian politics.
Saudi Arabia’s confrontation against Qatar shows the futility of its aggressive posturing. It has encouraged Iran and Turkey to rush to Qatar’s assistance, calling into question the entire basis of Riyadh’s simplistic sectarian approach to regional competitions.
India’s recent interaction with the Yemeni foreign minister has hardly any political significance, since the sponsors of the Hadi government, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are pursuing a political settlement that will exclude Hadi and bring former president Ali Abdullah Saleh back into the national mainstream.
West Asia is a part of India’s neighbourhood. India’s ties with this region go back several millennia; it is also the region where its crucial interests are at stake.
What the region desperately needs is not more conflict, being encouraged by the Trump presidency, but the balm of diplomacy that would promote engagement and dialogue. India should re-visit the joint statements signed two years ago and shape a diplomatic initiative to respond to the desperate call for peace from the region.