Dehradun, November 7
Professor Tim Niblock, President of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, said today that the exit of the US from Iraq has provided an opportunity to the Middle East countries to independently manage their own political, economic and security concerns.
“Without leaning towards the Western countries the Arab world should be able to manage their own collective interests and even go on to organise regional-level security outfit. The American engagement in Iraq has already exposed the short-sighted nature of the country of its policies that has only resulted in the gain for Iran. With new players emerging on the scene, especially China, it would be interesting to see if the region once again becomes a source of conflict for countries vying for space,” said Professor Niblock while delivering a talk on “China, India and the Gulf: Promoting Collective Interests and Avoiding conflict”, at Doon University here.
He said while India had long historical ties with the Gulf countries, China’s association with the Gulf countries began taking firm shape only in 2000 when it began to look for oil supplies from the Gulf to fulfil its growing needs. “As an emerging economic giant, China is expected to fill the slot vacated by the US followed by India and other countries. China enjoys a political and historical advantage, as it does not carry any political and historical baggage as carried by the Western countries. But my interaction with the Chinese suggest they are interested in building only economic ties and taking lessons from the past would like keep itself aloof politically,” the Professor said.
He said by all accounts India too had similar interest. “While it has historical ties with the middle east and a strong expatriate population in these countries, India too has several advantages. Their role in the Gulf then should be seen as complementary instead of competitive and it may eventually lead to peace in the region,” said Professor Niblock.
Professor Tim Niblock, President of the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies, said today that the exit of the US from Iraq has provided an opportunity to the Middle East countries to independently manage their own political, economic and security concerns.
“Without leaning towards the Western countries the Arab world should be able to manage their own collective interests and even go on to organise regional-level security outfit. The American engagement in Iraq has already exposed the short-sighted nature of the country of its policies that has only resulted in the gain for Iran. With new players emerging on the scene, especially China, it would be interesting to see if the region once again becomes a source of conflict for countries vying for space,” said Professor Niblock while delivering a talk on “China, India and the Gulf: Promoting Collective Interests and Avoiding conflict”, at Doon University here.
He said while India had long historical ties with the Gulf countries, China’s association with the Gulf countries began taking firm shape only in 2000 when it began to look for oil supplies from the Gulf to fulfil its growing needs. “As an emerging economic giant, China is expected to fill the slot vacated by the US followed by India and other countries. China enjoys a political and historical advantage, as it does not carry any political and historical baggage as carried by the Western countries. But my interaction with the Chinese suggest they are interested in building only economic ties and taking lessons from the past would like keep itself aloof politically,” the Professor said.
He said by all accounts India too had similar interest. “While it has historical ties with the middle east and a strong expatriate population in these countries, India too has several advantages. Their role in the Gulf then should be seen as complementary instead of competitive and it may eventually lead to peace in the region,” said Professor Niblock.
No comments:
Post a Comment