Explaining the Role and Function of Geopolitical the Gulf of Chabahar in Indian Ocean Developments (Emphasizing India-China Competition)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD of Political Geography, Imam Hossein University, Tehran

2 Professor of Political Geography, Kharazmi University, Tehran

3 Associate Professor of Political Geography, Kharazmi University, Tehran

4 Assistant Professor of Sociology, Imam Hossein University, Tehran

Abstract

Introduction
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, geopolitical relations centered on the geoeconomic on the world scale; this means that the economic function of the places gives them geopolitical weight. The Gulf of Chabahar is a geopolitical geographic location that places this gulf in the spotlight of the world's economic powers. The Gulf of Chabahar, as an interconnecting space between the inner and outer space, can play a strategic role in the modern political economy of the international and the political economy of trade and the transit of energy in the Indian Ocean; it also plays a strategic role in shaping a regional cooperation organization. Iran can use this capacity to organize regional and international institutions, particularly in the Indian Ocean, thereby linking the interests of other countries with the Oman sea coast; In addition, Iran can promote its geopolitical status in the world and the region, and by establishing a regional and global consensus, provide new opportunities for security.
Methodology
The methodology governing the research is a mixed method that the researcher considered it through library studies and conducting exploratory interviews, the indicators. The questionnaire has been developed to verify the validity and reliability of the interviews.
Results and discussion
The present study was conducted as a correlation research to explore the geopolitical influences of the Gulf of Chabahar on Indian Ocean developments, especially in the rivalries between India and China. In the theoretical part of the research, the researcher examined and analyzed the various theories about political actors and selected the theories that could be used as the basis for the study and the conceptual framework of the research. Finally, a mix model was developed and it was used as a theoretical framework for research. Findings of the analysis, made it clear that the Gulf of Chabahar possesses the potential and actual capabilities that the powers of China and India can use in their power relations from cooperation to competition. In fact, the Gulf of Chabahar is a coin that plays a role on the one hand of the coin (geopacific) and on the other, the competition and the conflict (geopolitics). Iran and other political actors, by adopting a geo-economic approach, will be able to forgive the developments in the Indian Ocean by sharing interests in the Gulf of Chabahar. Therefore, two views are open to Iran and other actors: the geopolitical view and the geoeconomic view, each of which has its own landscape and space, and when the actors look from the geopolitical view to the geographic space, they will see that structural and functional elements, individually or collectively, completely or incompletely play a role in various political, economic, cultural, security dimensions and attract the attention of political actors to this geopolitical space.
Therefore, the Indian Ocean can be considered as a geopolitical region in which various local and global actors play a role to acquire power resources, among which two main actors in this area are India and China, which are as active characters in the region: each one in attempting to take the hegemony of the Indian Ocean region, must observe some requirements in their foreign policy.  Therefore the geopolitical rivalry of both India and China will be continued and each one must adopt an effective and applicable political strategy. Politics and relations between powers and political actors have always been an arena for rivalry and an endless struggle for gaining, preserving and upgrading power, as geographic spaces do not have the capacity to meet all the needs of actors, and the principle of scarcity rests on such spatial domains. Accordingly, power is considered as the ultimate goal because of its fundamental role in providing other purposes. In other words, all human values ​​and their realization depend on an element naming power, and gaining power is equal to the survival, security and realization of the values which are followed by an actor. India and China are no exception. But if we look out of the geo-economics view, we will encounter a geographic space in which actors with a positive perspective seek to reach their interests in the shadow of collaboration with other actors; in other words, the logic of the non-zero algebraic summation is replaced by the logic of zero algebraic summation. The actors will step in the direction of geopacific. Thus, if the Islamic Republic of Iran looks at the geopacific and geo-economic views in the Indian Ocean, it will find a favorable space for the beginning of cooperation and convergence China and India as well as other actors. This opportunity paves the way for IRI to increasing their weight and improves its position. Hence, the increase of the Gulf of Chabahar in Indian Ocean, the paper plan presented suggestions in three, economic, political and military-security sections in three national, regional and international scales.
Conclusion
The result of the analysis showed that there is a meaningful relation between the geopolitics of the Gulf of Chabahar  and the Indian Ocean and the Indian-Chinese rivalry in the alpha level of P = 0.00. As a result, there is a correlation between the two variables and it can be assured with 0.99% that if the geopolitical capacities and capabilities of the Gulf of Chabahar are used properly. The ratio of the Indian Ocean's role will increase especially the India-China rivalries. It was inferred from the answers to the questionnaire that 82% of experts and authorities believe that the geopolitics of the Gulf of Chabahar has a great impact on Indian Ocean changes, especially between India and China.

Keywords

Main Subjects


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