Context:

• This article is based on an Editorial “India and the Great Power Contest in West Asia” which was published in The Hindu. At the G-20 summit in New Delhi, the United States and others unveiled a U.S.-backed infrastructure project to connect India, West Asia and Europe.

Navigating West Asia: Biden’s Strategy Amidst Challenges

• Continuation of Trump-era Policies: Biden seeks to strengthen Gulf Arab-Israel ties, focusing on a potential Saudi-Israel deal to enhance U.S. influence.
• Reassurance and Economic Integration: Biden’s strategy emphasizes maintaining U.S. presence and fostering economic cooperation, notably through initiatives like the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor.
• U.S. Pursuit of Saudi-Israel Normalization: Before the unveiling of the infrastructure project at G-20 summit, a high-level U.S. delegation had visited Saudi Arabia, seeking a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
• Challenges in West Asia: Both developments, seemingly unrelated, outline U.S  approach towards West Asia, a geostrategically important region where the U.S. is now being challenged by multiple factors.

Diplomacy and Integration: Unpacking Key Strategies in West Asia

• The Abraham Accords: It set the stage for the transformation of Israel’s ties with the United Arab Emirates.
  • India’s presence in a grouping of the Abraham Accords countries was seen as a legitimate recognition of India’s presence in the region.
    • The true potential of this policy would not be reached unless there is a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

• I2U2: The idea behind I2U2 (India, Israel, the U.S. and the UAE) is to create a new platform to expedite economic integration between West Asia and South Asia and offer economic and technological solutions to the problems faced by the Global South.
• The India-Middle East-Europe Corridor: It seeks to build an economic corridor from India’s western coast, through the Gulf (the UAE and Saudi Arabia), Jordan and Israel, to the Mediterranean, bringing India and Europe closer.

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China’s Expanding Footprint in West Asia

• Dependency on West Asia: China is dependent on imports for over 70% of its oil requirements, and is enhancing its focus on West Asia.
• Variety of Roles: China has not only emerged as the biggest trading partner of America’s Gulf Arab allies and a major investor in the region but has also shown a willingness to play a bigger role as peacemaker, as evident in the Iran-Saudi reconciliation agreement.

India’s Strategic Role in West Asia Amid U.S.-China Competition

• Opportunity of Multi-engagement: The U.S.-China competition in West Asia gives India new opportunities for multi-engagement.
  • To counter China’s influence, America is forming closer ties between its allies in the region and bringing India in as a bigger, stable partner to write the new rules of economic engagement and integration, competing with China.
• Perception of India: The U.S. sees India, with its size, the size of its economy and its historical engagement and cultural connection with the region, as an important partner to shape West’s Asia’s geopolitics.
• Existing Economic Channel: India is already part of the near-functional International North-South Transport Corridor that connects India to Russia through Iran and Central Asia and now this ‘Middle East Corridor’ would open another economic channel for India.

Conclusion:

• India should strive to play a major geopolitical role in West Asia, its extended neighborhood. This should be done while preserving its traditional balance, regardless of U.S involvement in China’s presence in the region.