Soltaninejad, Mohammad
(2017)
Iran And Southeast Asia: An Analysis Of Iran's
Policy Of "Look To The East".
International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies (IJAPS), 13 (1).
pp. 29-49.
ISSN ISSN: 1823-6243
Abstract
This article studies the sudden rise in the economic and commercial relations
between Iran and Southeast Asian countries from 2007 to 2011 and its collapse
afterwards. The author attributes this phenomenon to two factors: first, politics'
priority over economy in Iran's foreign policy during the years Iran adopted the
policy of "Look to the East," and second, characteristics of Iran's relations with
the great powers of the United States and China. Based on these, the author
contends that Iran's bid to establish firm economic relations with the East in
order to manage and reduce political pressures from the West is the reason for
sudden rise in Iran-Southeast Asia relations. The rising trend in the relations was
reversed from 2011 onward mainly due to the United States' persuasion of the
Southeast Asian countries to reduce cooperation with Iran. The author further
discusses that the dynamics of Iran-China relations have also limited the scope of
Iran-Southeast Asia cooperation.
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