News Report: Indian Involvement in Iran's Chabahar Port Hangs in Balance

India’s EXIM bank is still awaiting complete application form from Iran for the disbursement of $150 million loans even after 15 months of signing the loan contract.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India's ambition to bypass Pakistan to enter resource-rich Central Asia & Afghanistan hangs in balance as Iran is yet to send the complete application form for sourcing $150 million loans from India's EXIM bank. The initial agreement for the loan was signed in May last year and since then, EXIM bank has been sending repeated reminders but Iran is yet to respond. The completed application form is a pre-condition for disbursement of the loan.

India's Minister for Shipping & Port Development Nitin Gadkari, who had visited Tehran last month to break the deadlock over the loan agreement. However, he is still waiting for Iran to send it the completed application form to the EXIM Bank of India for providing the first tranche of the loan from the $150 million credit line.

News Report: India Reinforces Massive Assistance to Afghanistan’s Fight Against Terror

India’s increased assistance to Afghanistan comes close on the heels of Donald Trump’s “new Afghan strategy” to tackle “terrorist havens” in Pakistan.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — India has announced a slew of assistance for better equipping Afghanistan in fighting terrorists along with new developmental assistance in the form of 116 high-impact community development projects to be implemented in 31 provinces of the war-torn country.

The assistance is in addition to those that are already being provided by India to the war-torn country. An agreement to this effect was reached during a meeting of the 2nd India-Afghanistan Strategic Partnership Council in New Delhi. Sushma Swaraj, India's Minister of External Affairs reaffirmed that for India, strategic partnership and friendship with Afghanistan is an ‘article of faith'.

"It was agreed to strengthen security cooperation between the two countries. India agreed to extend further assistance for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in fighting the scourge of terrorism, organized crime, trafficking of narcotics and money laundering," joint statement issued after the meeting reads.

News Report: India, Iran Agree to Set Aside Differences for Chabahar Port Project

Chabahar port has been termed as ‘Golden Gate’ for India as it will open up trade access with Afghanistan, Central Asia and Eurasia.

New Delhi (Sputnik) – Notwithstanding the recent stalemate over a number of issues, India has reached out to Iran in a bid to remove bottlenecks in the strategically important Chabahar port project. India’s Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, who was in Tehran to represent India at inauguration ceremony to mark President Hassan Rouhani's second term, met several top officials of the Iran government and discussed the issues related to trade and delayed infrastructure projects.

The two sides have agreed to create a special group which will suggest ways to expedite the Chabahar port project.

“Regarding ports and rail connectivity projects, we have identified the problems and bottlenecks. We have decided to make some groups between the two countries to solve the issues,” Nitin Gadkari told the Press Trust of India.

News Report: China, Move Over! India Considers Its Own 'Silk Road', Invites Iran to Join In

India has pitched the idea of a transport corridor to Iran, Russia, the Caucasus region and Central Asia as an alternative to China’s “One Belt, One Road” project.

The proposed corridor, dubbed North-South, would stretch to Russia via Iran and connect the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean with the Caspian Sea, thus making the Islamic Republic a key player in the region.

In an interview with Sputnik Persian, Iranian political analyst Pir Mohammad Mollazehi spoke about the potential benefits the North-South project  promised Iran and Russia.

“What makes the North-South corridor so important is that it would bring transportation costs and travel time down by 30 percent. It is with these considerations in mind that Iran, Russia and India are now discussing the use of the Chabahar or Bender Abbas ports to bring cargoes to the Iranian ports on the Caspian Sea,” Pir Mohammad Mollazehi said.

News Story: The Growing Significance of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Andaman and Nicobar Islands shown in RED BOX

(Click Image to Enlarge)

By Karan Tripathi and Gaurav Rana

The rise of two global powers hailing from the same region has made the Indian Ocean, more specifically the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (ANI), a hotly pursued region. 

With China already making great advances on its path to military superiority and control over the trade route via waters in the South China Sea and via land through the One Belt One Road initiative, it is imperative that Indian government understands the strategic role the ANI, a chain of 572 islands under its sovereignty, in helping her maintain a dominant role in the Indian Ocean.

Maritime Trade

The northernmost part of the archipelago is only 22 nautical miles away from Myanmar, the southernmost point of the Nicobar Islands, is only 90 nautical miles away from Indonesia. The Ten Degree Channel which falls under the Exclusive Economic Zone of India is a conduit for more than 60,000 commercial vessels each year, thereby making the ANI an indispensable region for India’s national security.

More than 80 percent of the world's maritime oil trade passes through the Indian Ocean, and it is an important conduit for trade for comprehensive world economies such as Japan, Australia, China and India. More than 70 percent of India's trade value and 80 percent of India’s crude oil requirements pass through the region. 

Read the full story at MarEx

News Story: Pakistan Gives China a 40-Year Lease for Gwadar Port

On April 20, Pakistan’s minister for ports and shipping announced that his ministry has given a Chinese firm a forty-year lease for the strategic Port of Gwadar. 

The lessee, state-owned China Overseas Port Holding Company, has been building out the port’s infrastructure since 2013. Under its new long-term contract, it will retain over 90 percent of revenue from Gwadar’s marine operations, plus 85 percent of the revenue from the management of an adjacent free zone. It will also benefit from the deep tax exemptions that Pakistan has granted to Chinese companies for projects related to the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a network of transportation infrastructure stretching from the Arabian Sea to the Chinese border. 

“We hope to create a new economic development model for the port by transplanting China’s experience in building special zones or economic development areas to Pakistan, in a bid to drive the country’s industrial transformation,” said COPHC CEO Zhang Baozhong, in comments to China Daily. 

Read the full story at MarEx

News Report: Ports For Pawns - How India-China Rivalry is Panning Out in the Persian Gulf

India-backed Chabahar port and China-developed Gwadar port could become the launch pads for a strategic rivalry between New Delhi and Beijing. But, it may also open another route for trade and commerce cooperation under the One Belt, One Road initiative.

New Delhi (Sputnik) — The Chinese Navy's latest plans to expand its marine corps and station new marine brigades in Gwadar, Pakistan and in Djibouti near the Gulf of Aden, will raise eyebrows in New Delhi and give fresh impetus to Indian efforts to expedite the completion of the Chabahar port in Iran. India's shipping minister Nitin Gadkari had expressed optimism last week that the first phase of the strategically located port in Iran will be complete by 2018.

What the two seemingly unrelated developments bring to the fore is that India-China rivalry is expanding in the Persian Gulf with both countries hedging their bets on strategically located ports and increasing their naval presence.