Tweet
New Game In Eurasia
On July 4 China and Iran signed an agreement in Beijing on cooperation
on security. The agreement was signed by the Iranian minister of
internal affairs Mostafa Mohammad Najar and the Chinese minister of
public security Guo Shengkun.
Internal affairs and security issues are concerned but it is crisp and
clear that this agreement has much more political importance and may
be considered as an important step towards political cooperation in
Eurasia.
This agreement has been preceded by a long period of Chinese-Iranian
negotiations on a wide range of issues, including military and
technical cooperation, which is a priority for Iran. However, military
and technical cooperation between China and Iran started a long time
ago and is progressing fast enough.
An important aspect of recent development of cooperation was Russia's
refusal to provide S300 to Iran though Iran used to receive missiles
from Chine. At the same time, Iran was claiming membership to Shanghai
Cooperation Organization which was blocked by Russia and China but now
Russia keeps to its previous opinion whereas China has obviously
changed its opinion.
The problem is not only issues that Russia will face in case Iran
joins SCO but also China's interest in enlarging SCO (perhaps the
reluctance to accept Pakistan to SCO also matters).
The game in and around SCO is not that simple, and if this club of
states is not in the focus of public discussion, it does not mean that
the international community, including the United States, Japan and
Korea are not worried about the perspectives of this bloc.
However, in this very period China prefers development of bilateral
relations in Eurasia, and it remains a delicate issue though it is
clear that the interests of China do not overlap with Russian
interests.
As a country with immense oil and gas resources and a considerable
influence on the Near East and Central Asia Iran is a major
`achievement' for China. (Iran and China are considering the
opportunity of layout of a gas pipeline to supply several tens of
billions of cubic meters of gas to China. It will change the state of
energy in Central Eurasia and change dramatically energy supply of
China.)
Ostensibly, China considered Iran as a `reserve option' and argument
in its dialogue with the United States and Russia, as well as the
relations with Arab states in case it occurs to them to stop oil
supply. Certainly, the geopolitical interests of China and Iran
coincide in Central Asia where both states have strategic interests
which do not contradict to each other.
Interestingly, new negotiations on Turkey's policy on Central Asia
have been launched between Iran and China, perhaps relating to signals
from Washington to oust Turkey from the Near East and directing its
ambitions at Central Asia.
Activation of Chinese-Iranian relations may also be related to the
perspectives of rapprochement of Iran and the United States,
improvement of their relations.
Will a new geopolitical `triangle' or new confronting blocs form in
Eurasia? Time will show. Meanwhile, a new game is outlining in Eurasia
where various Eurasian doctrines will be reviewed.
Someone was extremely anxious about `status' without understanding the
new character of statehood and tendencies of international relations.
Igor Muradyan
14:55 08/07/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/politics/view/30395
On July 4 China and Iran signed an agreement in Beijing on cooperation
on security. The agreement was signed by the Iranian minister of
internal affairs Mostafa Mohammad Najar and the Chinese minister of
public security Guo Shengkun.
Internal affairs and security issues are concerned but it is crisp and
clear that this agreement has much more political importance and may
be considered as an important step towards political cooperation in
Eurasia.
This agreement has been preceded by a long period of Chinese-Iranian
negotiations on a wide range of issues, including military and
technical cooperation, which is a priority for Iran. However, military
and technical cooperation between China and Iran started a long time
ago and is progressing fast enough.
An important aspect of recent development of cooperation was Russia's
refusal to provide S300 to Iran though Iran used to receive missiles
from Chine. At the same time, Iran was claiming membership to Shanghai
Cooperation Organization which was blocked by Russia and China but now
Russia keeps to its previous opinion whereas China has obviously
changed its opinion.
The problem is not only issues that Russia will face in case Iran
joins SCO but also China's interest in enlarging SCO (perhaps the
reluctance to accept Pakistan to SCO also matters).
The game in and around SCO is not that simple, and if this club of
states is not in the focus of public discussion, it does not mean that
the international community, including the United States, Japan and
Korea are not worried about the perspectives of this bloc.
However, in this very period China prefers development of bilateral
relations in Eurasia, and it remains a delicate issue though it is
clear that the interests of China do not overlap with Russian
interests.
As a country with immense oil and gas resources and a considerable
influence on the Near East and Central Asia Iran is a major
`achievement' for China. (Iran and China are considering the
opportunity of layout of a gas pipeline to supply several tens of
billions of cubic meters of gas to China. It will change the state of
energy in Central Eurasia and change dramatically energy supply of
China.)
Ostensibly, China considered Iran as a `reserve option' and argument
in its dialogue with the United States and Russia, as well as the
relations with Arab states in case it occurs to them to stop oil
supply. Certainly, the geopolitical interests of China and Iran
coincide in Central Asia where both states have strategic interests
which do not contradict to each other.
Interestingly, new negotiations on Turkey's policy on Central Asia
have been launched between Iran and China, perhaps relating to signals
from Washington to oust Turkey from the Near East and directing its
ambitions at Central Asia.
Activation of Chinese-Iranian relations may also be related to the
perspectives of rapprochement of Iran and the United States,
improvement of their relations.
Will a new geopolitical `triangle' or new confronting blocs form in
Eurasia? Time will show. Meanwhile, a new game is outlining in Eurasia
where various Eurasian doctrines will be reviewed.
Someone was extremely anxious about `status' without understanding the
new character of statehood and tendencies of international relations.
Igor Muradyan
14:55 08/07/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/politics/view/30395