New Delhi, April 14: India is well-positioned to consider the India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), not merely as a “commercial connectivity initiative” but as “a potential national-security-cum-economic hedge”. The current phase of geopolitical instability offers a political window to press partner countries to expedite implementation of critical rail-link agreements, enhance customs-and-standards harmonisation, and codify shared rules for energy-and-digital-corridor governance, a report said on Tuesday.
According to a piece in New Delhi-based ‘International Centre for Peace Studies’, with sustained political will and sufficient financing, IMEC could emerge as a viable alternative architecture framework for India–Europe trade and energy flows, capable of absorbing both current global shocks and future disruptions.
“The Bab el-Mandeb Strait has emerged as a critical geopolitical flashpoint, with Houthi and Iranian activities threatening global trade, energy, and digital infrastructure. As the ‘Gate of Grief’ handles 10 per cent of global seaborne oil and nearly 20 per cent of internet traffic, disruptions force costly rerouting around Africa. For India, whose trade is 95 per cent sea-based, this instability poses a severe macroeconomic risk,” the report detailed.
“The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) offers a vital strategic hedge. By integrating multimodal land-and-sea routes, IMEC provides a resilient alternative that bypasses vulnerable maritime chokepoints,” it added. Amid ongoing tensions in the West Asian region, the report suggested that if a similar situation to the Strait of Hormuz emerged at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, it would trigger massive economic disruptions and strain supply chains and energy flows.
“This shift in attention towards another critical strait in the region comes after the Houthis, backed by Iran in Yemen, launched ballistic missiles at Israel. Since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on February 28, Iran has now targetted the USA’s Gulf Arab allies, weaponising the Strait of Hormuz and sending the world into an energy shock.
Meanwhile, in southern Lebanon, Israel is in a fight with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group,” it mentioned. “Analysts see the official entry of Houthis in the ongoing war as a potential risk to the vital maritime chokepoint—Bab el-Mandeb—connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe,” it added. The report noted that despite the blockade by the Houthis following the Gaza war, India managed the trade and energy flows through a combination of rerouting, cost absorption, naval signalling and contingency planning.
India, it said, adopted a “calibrated approach” by staying outside from joining the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian while significantly enhancing the Indian Navy’s surveillance and operational presence in the Gulf of Aden and the northern Arabian Sea. Highlighting the IMEC’s strategic significance, the report said, “After this maritime disturbance in the region, possible alternatives are being explored to strengthen regional security coordination, improve insurance risk-sharing, and diversify routes, including the India-Middle East corridor, as a medium-term response to chokepoint vulnerability.”
IANS
