What is the article about?
America's changing West Asia policy and its larger impact on the world
Relevance:
GSII- IR – Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.
Analysis:
- First visit of the US President to West Asia to strengthen America's traditional partnerships & alliances in the region, involving Israel and Sunni Arab countries.
- In Israel, he promised that the U.S. would do everything it could to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. In his brief visit to the Palestinian West Bank, he was careful not to criticise the Israe li occupation of the Palestinian territories. He promised aid, but said the ground situation wasn't ready for reviving the peace process.
- In Saudi Arabia, Mr. Bidenmet Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince. Later, in a summit with Arab leaders in Jeddah, he said the U.S. would not walk away from West Asia, leaving a vacuum which China , Russia or Iran would try to fill.
- Gone are the days when the Israel-Palestine issue dominated an American President’s foreign policy agenda towards West Asia. Mr. Biden did not even touch upon the Palestine question. He has two clear objectives — regional balance and energy security.
- As the Iran nuclear talks have hit an impasse, he seeks to accelerate cooperation between Israel and Sunni Arabs, the pillars of America’s West Asia policy'
- The Biden administration seeks to punish Russia’s Vladimir Putin for his Ukraine invasion; it needs Saudi Arabia to pump more oil into the international market, disrupted by the western oil sanctions on Russia.
For India:
For India's energy security and labour, West Asia is important. Now India will have to respond to this policy change in a diplomatic way.
