Unlocking borders

For too long the north-western borders have kept India away from a large landmass with which it had age-old ties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Iran visit caps an effort of nearly 15 years to gain easy access into Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asian countries. India has now leased the Iranian port of Chabahar. It is tempting to view the leasing from the prism of Sino-India strategic rivalry, especially after Pakistan leased out its Gwadar port to China. There is no doubt Pakistan will keep a very anxious eye on the goings-on at Chabahar, a short distance from the troubled Balochistan. But there is more to Chabahar than strategic one-upmanship.

Chabahar over time could become an example of a unique trilateral collaboration: Indian expertise using Iranian gas to add value to Afghan minerals. The goodwill for India in the long run, provided the trilateral cooperation keeps going, would be immense. However, Chabahar is not Gwadar when it comes to military use. The Sino-Pakistani friendship is in a very intense phase, Islamabad won’t object to China bringing in naval vessels at Gwadar. But the India-Iran ties, though on the upswing, are yet to evolve to that level. 

India also had to pay a price for the trading foothold. Iran saw New Delhi’s abiding interest in Chabahar as an opportunity to bring industry to this under-developed region. India will set up smelters and fertiliser plants in Chabahar but the proposed corridor to Afghanistan needs to be linked to busier channels of commerce to make it viable. This cannot be achieved if a route of commerce develops into a contest with China or Pakistan. Afghanistan and Iran may turn lukewarm as they would not like to be dragged into a game of proxy military contests. The US is also anxious and needs to be assured that the development of a transport hub and corridor is primarily meant to sidestep Pakistan’s outmoded strategy of blocking India’s access to its erstwhile north-western neighbours. A successful implementation of the corridor over time could increase the constituency for easier movement of goods across South Asia, to begin with.