India is expanding Chabahar’s port facilities to counter Gwadar Port

[emoriphious]

Iran has been expanding Chabahar’s port facilities in hopes of capturing some of the foreseen Central Asian trade that would otherwise be funneled through Gwadar. India has signed on, helping upgrade the port and building new road and rail linkages. The plan is to connect Chabahar to Afghanistan, former Soviet Central Asia, and Russia; ultimately a “multi-modal transport link” is supposed to reach St. Petersburg. Iran and India are also discussing a possible natural gas pipeline that would snake along the seabed from Chabahar to India, by-passing Pakistan.
Progress on the Chabahar port has been slower than planned. According to a March 2011 Reuters report, “Indian officials now believe that Iranian reluctance to move faster on Chabahar may be linked to its anxieties about the troubled Sistan-Baluchestan region where Shi’ite Muslim Iran is trying to put down a Sunni Muslim insurgency.” India wants to expedite the project, as it is desperate to obtain a backdoor corridor into Afghanistan that avoids Pakistan. India has already, at great cost and danger, built the 218-kilometer Zaranj-Delaram highway in Afghanistan, which it hopes to connect to the new port.

The geopolitical and economic intrigue currently underway in Baluchistan fits into what is sometimes called the “New Great Game” (the original having been the 19th century contest between the British and Russian empires for influence in the same region). As before, the geopolitical considerations can be intricate. According to the Wikipedia, the New Great Game involves “competition between the United States, the United Kingdom and other NATO countries against Russia, the People’s Republic of China and other Shanghai Cooperation Organisation countries for ‘influence, power, hegemony and profits in Central Asia and the Transcaucasus.’”

The Wikipedia’s depiction of the New Great Game does not match the competition being waged between Gwadar and Chabahar. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is not a real alliance, and its two largest members, Russia and China, find themselves on opposite sides of this particular rivalry. It is also questionable where the United States and the rest of NATO figure in. Despite its (fraying) alliance with Islamabad, the US is excluded from the Pakistan-China linkage, and despite its evolving ties with New Delhi, it is excluded from any nexus that involves Iran. And despite Selig Harrison’s fond desires, it is highly unlikely that the United States will be able to partner with an independent Balochistan anytime soon. The US and NATO, it would seem, are sitting out this round of the New Great Game.
Chabahar (Persian: چابهار, Chābahār), previously also Bandar Beheshti, is an Iranian city and a free port (Free Trade Zone) on the coast of the Gulf of Oman.

Chabahar is situated on the Makran Coast of the Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran and is officially designated as a Free Trade and Industrial Zone by Iran's government. Due to its free trade zone status, the city has increased in significance in international trade. The overwhelming majority[citation needed] of the city's inhabitants are ethnic Baluch who speak the Baluchi language. India is helping Iran with the port of Chabahar.Chabahar is Iran's closest and best access point to the Indian Ocean. For this reason, Chabahar is the focal point of Iran for development of the east of the country through expansion and enhancement of transit routes among countries situated in the northern part of the Indian Ocean and Central Asia.[2] The hope is that with the development of transit routes, and better security and transit services, the benefits will reach the area residents.

Chabahar's economic sectors are fish industries and commercial sector, fishery sectors with largest amount of country's fish catch, mainly located out of the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone. Growing commercial sector located at free trade area with high potentiality to turn to a place that would connect business growth centers in south Asia (India) and Middle East (Dubai) to central Asian and Afghanistan market. The government plan to link Chabahar free trade area to Iran's main rail network, which is connected to central Asia and Afghanistan. This would provide more capability for Chabahar to foster faster logistics sector that is a basic to achieve better position comparing to its competitor (Pakistani port of Gwadar).

 

[Varad]

Once this port becomes fully operationalized, it would great boost India's trade prospects with Central Asia.

 

[DelhiDareDevil]

If India can expand Iran port, then why cant Pakistan expand Pakistanis port?

 

[jha]

Chabahar Port needs to be developed on War footing... Its too crucial for Central-Asian trade..

 

[keerthan]

it of great importance otherwise we wont be able to have trade with afghanistan and other central asian countries becoz pakistan wont allow the trade from its land.
once completed it will be great boost to indian economy and also afghanistan

 

[killerx]

it of great importance otherwise we wont be able to have trade with afghanistan and other central asian countries becoz pakistan wont allow the trade from its land.
once completed it will be great boost to indian economy and also afghanistan

yea right what about afghan sea port ? have yo seen the map of the world troller.

 

[manofwar]

yea right what about afghan sea port ? have yo seen the map of the world troller.

Afghan Sea Port!!
You ought to have your eye tested man.........
As far as I know Afghanistan is a land locked country............................Or perhaps it has annexed Baluchistan??

 

[Skull and Bones]

yea right what about afghan sea port ? have yo seen the map of the world troller.

Last time i checked it, Afghanistan shares border with Iran.

Does your map features Afghanistan landlocked by Pakistan on it's all sides?