China, India forge peace on one border as other frictions emerge, this time in Iran

Name: India and China attempt to de-escalate border tension after deaths
Uploaded: 2020-07-26T10:00:05.000Z
Duration: 2 min 13 s
Description: India and China attempt to de-escalate border tension after deaths

Clash of interests in the nearby nation may be new source of tension, as Beijing and Tehran negotiate an economic and security pact

The deal could jeopardise New Delhi’s strategic plan to invest in the Iranian port of Chabahar, analysts say

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India has reportedly been dropped from the railway project for Chabahar, a port on Iran’s southern coast. Photo: Handout

Eduardo Baptista

Published: 6:00pm, 26 Jul 2020Updated: 4:10pm, 30 Jul 2020

Even as India and China hold talks to defuse a deadly Himalayan border clash between their troops last month, New Delhi’s next challenge from Beijing is already emerging, over 1,000km (620 miles) away from Indian territory – in Iran.

Relations between the world’s two most populous nations turned volatile after 20 Indian soldiers died in a skirmish with Chinese soldiers on June 15 at the Himalayan border region of Ladakh. Earlier this month, Indian national security adviser Ajit Doval and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to pull back troops from the disputed border.

While the tensions may have eased for now, a clash of strategic interests in nearby Iran could be a new source of friction.

Beijing plans to pour US$400 billion into infrastructure investment in Iran as part of a 25-year economic and security partnership that will give China a regular, lower-priced supply of oil, The New York Times reported on July 11, citing an 18-page leaked document on the plan. China has declined to confirm or deny the report.

Such a move would elbow right into a long-planned ambition of India to invest in Iran’s Chabahar port on the Indian Ocean. The project, which includes building a rail link from the port to Iran’s border with resource-rich Afghanistan, would open up lower-cost seaborne trading channels for India into Central Asia, while hopscotching landlocked routes blocked by rivals Pakistan and China.

02:13

India and China attempt to de-escalate border tension after deaths

The bad news for Delhi is that Iran has dropped India from the railway project for Chabahar, according to a July 14 report in The Hindu newspaper that cited Iranian government sources.