The Indian Ocean, sometimes called the maritime Silk Road, represents the profound linkages between the Middle East and a rising Asia. The trade and economic connectivity has been well understood for years. China, Japan and India rely heavily on oil from the Persian Gulf states, while a new economic interdependence has developed in manufactured goods, energy refinery capacity, food security and labor migration.
Far from the Washington chatter about the “pivot” to Asia somehow adversely affecting the Arab world, from the Indian perspective, Asia and the Middle East form a dynamic and interactive geopolitical space.
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