Leadership role of China in mediating peace between Iran and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

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Leadership role of China in mediating peace between Iran and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

 

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'Nature abhors a vacuum': ex-envoy Jorge Heine on China's rising clout in West Asia as US packs up and leaves​

New Delhi, India Written By: Heena SharmaUpdated: Mar 13, 2023, 10:48 PM IST

'Nature abhors a vacuum': ex-envoy Jorge Heine on China's rising clout in West Asia as US packs up and leaves PhotographTwitter)

The recent historic agreement between the two geopolitical arch rivals, Saudi Arabia and Iran, has rolled out a red carpet for China in the West Asian region, a country whose diplomatic clout was till now limited only to Indo-Pacific region. The 10 March agreement, which was a major breakthrough in the history of the nations marred by religious faultlines, has opened up a pandora's box, with experts laying down all sorts of geopolitical permutations and combinations.

WION exclusively spoke with former ambassador of Chile to China Jorge Heine to get his razor-sharp views on this crucial development which has fixated the attention of major global powers on China. But before we cater to the big fish - China, a look at US and its diminishing clout in the Gulf is imperative.

Ambassador Heine is a Research Professor at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University. In a video interview with WION, the former diplomat said that the phenomenon of US stepping away from Gulf is not a new one.

"As you may recall some ten years ago, the United States announced that it was pivoting to Asia... by that Washington meant pivoting away from the Middle East, which had been the main focus and concern of the US foreign policy for a decade and move towards East Asia, mostly on China."

"Well, there is a saying: Nature abhors a vacuum. China has stepped into that vacuum. Others can pivot as well."

In a book West Asia At War, another former Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad had pointed out the urgent need for Saudi Arabia to diversify its economy by stepping away from its dependence on oil. As Saudi looks actively for options in this quest, China will be more than happy to extend a helping hand.

Ambassador Heine argues in affirmative. China, he said, can play a role in developing Saudi infrastructure, connectivity and its industrial capacity. "I think that is very much in the cards."

The break of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran happened seven years ago in 2016. Though the negotiations have been going on for a couple of years, the envoy said that the deal got a "significant push" in recent months in Beijing, particularly after the visit of the Iranian president to China.

But one thing that the envoy is sure of is that the rapproachmet is a good news for all, be it Israel, India or even US. On hindsight, he added that the deal is a blow to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has made it "his business and his primary foreign policy objective to isolate Iran" which is "obviously not working very well."

Envoy Heine, who recently co-authored the book "External Powers in Latin America", also argues that Latin American countries have been pressured by West to side with Ukraine in its ongoing war wit Russia and to provide arms to the war-torn country, but they rightly refused to adhere to the West's demands.

"This is a European war that should be solved and addressed by Europeans... we argue for active Non-Alignment taking a page for India traditional foreign policy and taking... a neutral stance in the war in Ukraine."

Speaking about the religious differences between Iran and Saudi Arabia, he said, there are some serious geopolitical concerns as the the nations are significant powers in West Asia and there is a natural element of competition between the two.

"It seems to me that both Riyadh and Tehran have come to the conclusion that that this is one piece of trouble (religious rift) they do not need and that they better make amends and work together... So I think they have concluded that best thing is to move forward, leave the difference behind and have a working relationship. This does not mean they will become best friends or some sort of military allies. They will not."

'Nature abhors a vacuum': ex-envoy Jorge Heine on China's rising clout in West Asia as US packs up and leaves

The recent historic agreement between the two geopolitical arch rivals, Saudi Arabia and Iran, has rolled out a red carpet for China in the West Asian region, a country whose diplomatic clout was till now limited only to Indo-Pacific region. The 10 March agreement, which was a major breakthrough...

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