This context may appear familiar in the ongoing politics of ports in the region where Chabahar and Gwadar are seen as two major determinants of emerging regional politico-economic alliances. But Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, has approached the issue in a slightly different perspective in his book, Iran and Pakistan: Security, Diplomacy and American Influence to explain how Pakistan vied for American favour and support. However, the recent ports-related developments also reaffirm how fast geopolitical realities change, and also repeat themselves.
The Chabahar port was in fact conceived as an accommodation facility for US Navy ships to create a strategic balance with the Soviet Union and its close ally, India in Southwest Asia. Now India is a major partner in the development of the port. On the other hand, the port at Gwadar, which was once offered to the US, is now being developed by the Chinese. A recent statement in May this year by Mehdi Honerdoost, the Iranian ambassador to Pakistan, made things more interesting by indicating that the Chabahar port agreement between, India and Afghanistan is “not finished” and “not limited” to these three countries. He has revealed that the offer to built Chabahar port had first been extended to Pakistan and China, but neither had expressed interest.
