Wednesday April 30, 2008
Iranian diplomacy advances in Asia
MIDWEEK
By BUNN NAGARA
THE extent of foreign news coverage by Western mainstream media is usually a reliable guide to Western official priorities abroad, as well as of attention deficits over issues like Iran’s growing influence in South, Central and West Asia.
Overemphasis on the military option in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere has meant a shortfall in US diplomatic and political investment in these countries and regions. So as usual, US strategic understanding of key issues has not gone far beyond the grasp of a handful of regional experts.
On Monday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visited Pakistan and Sri Lanka, following that with India yesterday. That these visits have officially been dubbed “unofficial” adds to their workmanlike character and therefore their significance, exposing further the glaring lack of attention from Western analysts and opinion leaders.
Ahmadinejad’s schedule officially focuses on the Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline. But this project has deeper and wider geopolitical implications, set initially within a framework of improving ties among the Asian neighbours.
China has also indicated an interest in participating in the proposed pipeline, a prospect supported by Iran. However, the push is set on improving trilateral relations as symbolised by the IPI project.
As part of agreements between Teheran and Islamabad on Monday, Iran will also supply electricity to Pakistan, underlining Iran’s need to generate more power. For at least some weeks before his arrival, Ahmadinejad has been made to feel at home in South Asia with regional leaders championing Iran’s right to a non-military nuclear programme.
In Sri Lanka, Ahmadinejad’s arrival is seen in the context of a boon for the country’s infrastructure development. Although as in typical asymmetric relations Iran is providing Sri Lanka with loans to buy Iranian oil, Sri Lankans see themselves as the beneficiaries.
In a related vein, Iran, India and Pakistan are also Observers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). This grouping, led by China and Russia, is a formal entity of mutually supportive members that also involves specific projects within a broader geopolitical framework.
In contrast, US overtures in South Asia seem tentative, such as the stalled attempt to corral India into an “approved” nuclear community with trade-offs. Still, there are some US hits among the misses, like Iran’s scuppered 1991 deal for an Indian nuclear reactor.
US moves have also included increased military cooperation with India. But again this is a military option of limited spread, given the combined influence of Indian leftists, nationalists, and standard-bearers of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Last year Iran reaffirmed ties with China on the eve of the August SCO summit, with assurances of abiding by international law, continued cooperation with the IAEA and constant consultation with Beijing. The following month China welcomed Teheran’s agreement with the IAEA on nuclear inspections, with this development continuing into this year.
Lately however, India has been raising the stakes. Earlier this month India’s national security adviser MK Narayanan reportedly asked the international community (read the United States) to treat Iran with respect, rejecting any Indian involvement in attempts to isolate or alienate Teheran.
Then last week Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee declared that Washington had no right to judge the nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. This posture seemed to go beyond old ties between India and Iran, or India being home to the world’s second-largest Shi’ite Muslim community, or Ahmadinejad’s visit.
There are also reports of joint training between the Iranian and Indian navies, while private sector cooperation intensifies. India’s historic rise is inevitably linked to a growing demand for energy, and Iran has become a factor in that equation.
Meanwhile, US policymakers remain obsessed with a long drawn-out presidential race in the twilight of the Bush years.
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