India-China Rivalry & The Chabahar Route

The last week of May 2016 was one of the most eventful weeks which India had been waiting for. Soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Iran, President Pranab Mukherjee made a trip to neighbouring China. It is evident from these two visits that relations with Tehran and Beijing play an important role in New Delhi's foreign policy in the changing regional geopolitical landscape.

Despite sharing the global stage as members of different groups and blocs (like BRICS - the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), the two Asian powerhouses are engaged in a rivalry over regional supremacy.

Since the lifting of economic sanctions on the West Asian nation by the US and other Western powers, India and China have shown a great interest in investing in different Iranian projects, as they know that...