India-UAE-US dialogue with Saudi Arabia worries China.

New Delhi/Dubai – National Security Advisers of India, UAE, and the US discussed with the Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammad bin Salman. All four countries will be working on an ambitious project to connect the ports in the Gulf region with rail services. India, which has experience building railway services, will be given special importance in this project. Although no one has openly declared so, there are indications that India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the US are implementing this project to provide an alternative to China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative-BRI‘. A reaction has emerged from China over it.

China’s influence in the Gulf region, which mediates between Saudi Arabia and Iran, is claimed to have increased enormously. US opposition leaders and strategic analysts are alleging that China received such an opportunity due to the absurd policies implemented by the US Biden administration with regard to the Gulf region. Against this background, the US seems to have initiated a new move to increase its influence in the Gulf. US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan visited Saudi Arabia and met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. During discussions with the National Security Advisers of India, the UAE and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, the US National Security Adviser has proposed infrastructure development projects in the Gulf region.

A plan to connect the Gulf region with a rail service has been proposed where India’s assistance will be taken. This rail service will be connected to the ports, and through this, the cargo of the Gulf countries will be transported to India. So, this project assumes significance for India. The discussion that took place on Sunday has been noticed by the media all over the world. The media has claimed that India, the US, UAE, and Saudi have come together to reduce China’s increased influence in the Gulf and to thwart China’s ‘BRI’ project. Earlier, a group of India, Israel, the US, and the UAE was formed called the I2U2 group. The group was claimed to have been created to reduce China’s influence in the Gulf region. Some have dubbed it a QUAD for the Middle East.

It seems that China has taken note of the discussion held on Sunday. China’s Shu Liang, a Chinese analyst, has criticized the US initiative for rail service in the Gulf region as a ‘copycat’. Liang criticized the US initiative for the Gulf as part of the Cold War mentality. Liang has claimed that China’s BRI project is completely different. After China’s successful mediation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the US has had a rude awakening and is discussing opening a rail service in the Gulf region criticized Chinese scholar Wen Jing. Wen Jing also said that Quad, Aukus, and I2U2 are all part of the US’s efforts to contain China.

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