Strategic and Economic Importance of Gwadar for China and other Regional and Western States

Abstract

Gwadar is a deep seaport that played the role of main communication and trade route among India and the Gulf States. In collaboration with China, Gwadar Port has been intended to be connected with Afghanistan and via Afghanistan to Central Asia through road links. If we take the case of the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, it is Gwadar Port that allows China to counterbalance the Indo-US supremacy. Beijing now has the ability to counterbalance Indian maritime activities in the Indian Ocean by praising and acknowledging this Port. Gwadar Port's distance from Pakistan's Karachi Port and India's Gujarat and Mumbai naval stations allows China to observe Indo-US naval operations in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. Persia Gulf is responsible for over 60% of Beijing's energy supply demands. This phenomenon, in the long run, allows Beijing to monitor and control the sea lanes of communication (SLOCs) from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and up to the Strait of Hormuz.