• Chinese Involvement in the Gulf
• Regional Geopolitical Tensions
• Indo-Pacific and Global Power Dynamics

Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

01:53 – Exploring Gulf-Asia Economic Ties.

04:07 – Gulf States’ Quest for Global Indispensability.

07:41 – Saudi Arabia’s Drive for Economic Influence.

11:48 – India’s Leadership in the Global South.

14:49 – Gulf States’ Strategic Engagements with China, India.

18:28 – India’s Naval Strategy and Evacuations.

23:02 – Gulf States’ Distanced Relationship with Asia.

27:11 – Regional Competition and Strategic Shifts.

31:34- India Expands Indo-Pacific Framework.

35:43 – Assessing Indo-Pacific’s Impact on Gulf Security.

40:43 – Geoeconomics and Alliance Dynamics.

43:43 – Gulf States Prefer US AI, Diverse Partnerships.

45:58 – Outro

Hasan Alhasan
Senior Fellow for Middle East Policy
International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

Dr Hasan Alhasan is a Senior Fellow for Middle East Policy at the IISS. He has over a decade of experience as a scholar and practitioner of foreign policy in the Gulf region. He specialises in the Arab Gulf states’ grand strategies, economic statecraft, and relations with the Asian powers. Prior to joining IISS in 2019, Hasan served on HRH the Crown Prince of Bahrain’s staff as a senior analyst on foreign policy and national security for five years.  Hasan is regularly consulted by governments, private corporations, and the media on strategic affairs in the Gulf and Middle East region. His latest project at IISS, entitled Gulf Bailout Diplomacy: Aid as Economic Statecraft in a Turbulent Region, is a groundbreaking study on the politics of Gulf rescue lending in the MENA region. He is the co-editor of India and the Gulf: Theoretical Perspectives and Policy Shifts (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023).

• Harsh V Pant and Hasan T Alhasan (eds), India and the Gulf: Theoretical Perspectives and Policy Shifts (New Delhi: Cambridge University Press, 2023).
• Hasan Alhasan, India’s Defence Cooperation with the GCC States under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in Sujan Chinoy and Prasanta Kumar Pradhan (eds), India’s Approach to West Asia: Trends, Challenges and Possibilities (New Delhi: Pentagon Press, 2024), pp. 30-55

In this episode of China-MENA, titled “From the Red Sea to the Indo-Pacific: Expanding Cooperation Between the Gulf and Asia,” host Jonathan Fulton engages in a compelling conversation with Dr. Hasan Alhasan, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies to discuss the Gulf States’ views on and expanding ties with the Indo-Pacific, the Indo-Pacific’s strategic importance for Gulf security, and the influence of the US, China, and India on Gulf alliances.

Join us to understand how Gulf-Asia cooperation addresses future challenges and opportunities, from the Red Sea to the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

Fellow

Jonathan Fulton

Nonresident Senior Fellow

Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East programs Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative

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The China-MENA podcast features conversations with academics, think-tankers, and regional specialists on Chinese Influence in the Middle East and informs US and MENA audiences in the policy and business communities about the nature of China’s outreach to the region.

At a time when China’s global footprint is getting deeper and deeper, it has never been more important to understand its foreign policy and the Middle East is one of the world’s most consequential regions: home to major religions, diverse cultural and social heritage, central to global energy markets, and of course, geopolitics, linking people and markets in Asia, Africa and Europe.  This show will help you understand what China is doing in the region, and how the region is engaging with China as an increasingly important external power.

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Listen to the latest episode of the China-MENA podcast, featuring conversations with academics, government leaders, and the policy community on China’s role in the Middle East.

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This podcast was funded in part by a grant from the United States Department of State. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of State.

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Image: Chinese President Xi Jinping (front row, C) and Arab state heads take part in a photo session ahead of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on May 30, 2024. (Pool photo) (Kyodo) ==Kyodo NO USE JAPAN