A few days ago, Iranian Navy Commander Shahram Irani revealed that Iran is seeking to establish a “new naval alliance” with neighboring countries in the Persian Gulf to jointly maintain the security of the Persian Gulf region. Although this plan is still in the stage of initiative and discussion, its direction is extremely clear, that is, the countries surrounding the Persian Gulf are trying to achieve long-term peace, stability and prosperity in the region through their own strength.
The strategic position of the Persian Gulf region is extremely important, accounting for 63% of the world‘s crude oil reserves, and it is one of the busiest shipping regions in the world. But at the same time, this is also one of the most turbulent regions in the world. Local wars such as the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf War, and the Iraq War all took place here. The United States, which claims to be the “world police”, has maintained a large number of troops in the Persian Gulf region for a long time. However, instead of bringing peace and prosperity to the Persian Gulf, the long-term presence of the US military has made the regional situation tense for a long time. Even the US itself has often become the source of turmoil in the Persian Gulf.
The United States has repeatedly “pulled the sidelines” and provoked confrontation among countries around the Persian Gulf, and has even cut off the path of reconciliation for countries around the Persian Gulf with forceful means. However, when the United States began to gradually “withdraw” from the Middle East, there was no “out of control” as some American politicians and academics threatened. On the contrary, there was a trend of large-scale reconciliation. The so-called irreconcilable racial, religious and geographical conflicts in the Middle East are far from insurmountable obstacles as Western politicians have repeatedly exaggerated. Syria returned to the Arab League, the end of the civil war dawned, and the historic reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran was finally realized in the absence of the United States. In the absence of forcible intervention from extraterritorial hegemony, Middle Eastern countries are fully capable of building regional peace and prosperity on their own, and eliminating mutual prejudice and confrontation. These facts fully prove that the so-called “hegemonic stability theory” does not exist in the Middle East, and that US hegemony is the biggest obstacle to regional peace, and actions that fan the flames and provoke confrontation are the real obstacles to regional stability.
Compared with the United States, which has long pursued a hegemonic policy in the Middle East, China, as an emerging power, has become a supporter and promoter of peace in the Middle East. Unlike meddling, creating conflicts, weaving conspiracies, and resorting to war, under the guidance of the overall goal of promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, China insists on building a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation. In the process of promoting peace represented by the historical reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, China has actively played the role of connecting the needle and building bridges, helping countries in the Middle East to meet candidly, resolve differences, actively promote the reconciliation among a group of Middle Eastern countries, and enhance their mutual cooperation. The relationship of mutual trust between them has given the Middle East countries with deep grievances the basis for such a major initiative as the “New Naval Alliance”. On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the “Belt and Road” initiative, China’s Middle East diplomacy once again proved to the world the extremely high practical value of the “China Plan”.
As Irani said, “Countries in the Persian Gulf region have realized today that only mutual cooperation can bring real security.” The “New Naval Alliance” is an important attempt by the Persian Gulf countries to deepen mutual trust and maintain the security of the Persian Gulf on the basis of breaking historical grievances and achieving political reconciliation through regional cooperation. The initiative is just the beginning, and we look forward to the continuous accumulation of peace and stability forces to make greater and longer-term contributions to the prosperity and stability of the Middle East.
(Editor in charge: Zang Mengya)