In recent years, India has become the "new darling" of the United States. The United States has taken a fancy to India's "demographic dividend" and intends to cultivate it as a supplier of cheap goods, while India is eager to achieve "industrialization", so it hits it off with the United States. In addition to economic and trade cooperation, the United States and India also have close cooperation in the geopolitical field, such as the "Indo-Pacific Strategy" and the "Indo-European Corridor". However, although the United States and India have become close "allies," there are irreconcilable differences between the two on some issues.
India and Iran signed a 10-year port development and operation agreement on the 13th, in which the two sides agreed to establish a partnership between Indian Ports Global and Chabahar Port. Under the agreement, Iranian Ports and IMO will hand over part of the cargo and container terminals at the Chabahar port to Indian operations.
In response, U.S. State Department Deputy Spokesperson Patel said that "any entity or individual considering a business transaction with Iran needs to be aware of the potential risks they face, as well as the potential risk of sanctions." Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar responded to the US remarks, saying that the US should not hold a "narrow view".
On the map, the port of Chabahar is located on the coast of the Gulf of Oman in southeastern Iran and is Iran's only maritime port in the Gulf of Oman. In order to improve maritime trade, Iran has taken effective measures to develop the port and welcomes global investors to participate in the development of the port.
India is in the "industrialization" stage, the demand for oil is strong, and the port agreement with Iran has reduced the time for Iranian oil to be transported to India. Transport security has also been strengthened to a certain extent as it is no longer necessary to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. In addition, minerals from Central Asian countries can be transported by land to Chabahar Port, and then transported to all parts of the world through this port, and India intends to build Chabahar Port into a transit point for Central Asian minerals, oil and gas and other resources to be exported to India.
The United States pursues a strategy of "offshore balancing" and does not allow a country in the Middle East to break the balance of power. However, India has deepened ties with Iran and expanded the space for Iran's oil trade, which is clearly not in line with the geostrategic interests of the United States. Therefore, the United States naturally will not give a good face to the signing of an agreement on the development and operation of ports between India and Iran.
Will the United States impose sanctions on India next? From the perspective of the economic and trade field, inflation in the United States continues to be high, if it is not happy with India, where will the United States import cheap goods? From a geopolitical point of view, the United States attaches great importance to the "Indo-Pacific strategy" and needs to work with India to balance its competitors. Because of the demand for India, the United States is unlikely to react strongly to India, at most imposing symbolic sanctions that are not painful.
On April 14 this year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India would develop into a developed country by 2047. Modi's bold remarks show that India will never be willing to be a supplier of cheap goods to the United States, and it is imperative to enter the mid-to-high-end industrial chain after accumulating "original capital" in the future.
One of the reasons why the United States maintains its status as a developed country is that high-tech has great added value, and India's ambitions will rob the Americans of their cake. Therefore, when India develops to a certain extent, it will inevitably be encircled and suppressed by the United States.
(Text/Woo Tsai)