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“While the ‘Asianisation of Asia’ continues to spread roots and deepen pan-
Asian relations along the axes of energy cooperation, security partnership, trade
and investment, and people-to-people exchanges, little concrete and theoretically
informed attention has been paid to wider Asian perceptions of West Asia. This
magnificent volume is rectifying this and has given us a detailed and well-informed
understanding of the key Asian countries’ relations with their West Asian coun-
terparts and the security concerns which underpin their policies.”
– Prof. Anoush Ehteshami, Durham University
“As policy and academic interest for Gulf-Asian relations has been on the rise, the
project led by Li-Chen Sim and Jonathan Fulton comes at a critical time. The angle
of their research and the questions addressed in the country-specific case studies
will bring new perspectives to a field that has been lacking Asian views – be it
from China, Japan, Korea, or Singapore – on the Gulf. The background of the eight
contributors should ensure the rigor of the scholarship. At the same, the variety of
their nationalities is a good indicator of the diversity of views.”
– Jean-Loup Samaan, PhD, Senior Research Fellow,
Middle East Institute, National University of Singapore
Asian Perceptions of Gulf Security
Gulf stability is coming to play a larger role in the foreign policy calculus of many
states, but the evolving role of Asian powers is largely under-represented in the
International Relations literature. This volume addresses this gap with a set of
empirically rich, theory driven case studies written by academics from or based in
the countries in question. The underlying assumption is not that Asian powers have
already become important security actors in the Gulf, but rather that they perceive
the Gulf as a region of increasing strategic relevance. How will leaders in these
countries adjust to an evolving regional framework? Will there be coordinated
efforts to establish an Asian-centered approach to Gulf stability, or will Asian
rivalries make the region a theater of competition? Will US–China tensions force
alignment choices among Asian powers? Will Asian states balance, bandwagon,
hedge, or adopt some other approach to their Gulf relationships? These questions
become even more important as the western boundaries of Asia increasingly come
to incorporate the Middle East. The book will appeal to scholars and students in
the fields of International Relations, Security Studies, and International Political
Economy, as well as area specialists on the Gulf and those working on foreign
policy issues on each of the Asian countries included. Professionals in government
and non-government agencies will also find it very useful.
Li-Chen Sim is Assistant Professor, Institute of Civil and International Security
at Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Jonathan Fulton is Assistant Professor of Political Science in the College of
Humanities and Social Sciences at Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates.
Changing Dynamics in Asia-Middle East Relations
Series editor: Jonathan Fulton
A number of political and economic initiatives in recent years underscore the
surge in relations across Eurasia and the Indian Ocean region. The USA’s Indo-
Pacific strategy, China’s Belt and Road Initiative, India’s Look East and Look
West strategies, and several less formal but no less important state-to-state
relationships all indicate that ties across Eurasia are growing. Economic relations
between Persian Gulf states and various Asian energy markets have diversified
to the point that trade, investment and finance are complemented with diplomatic
and security cooperation. Soft power initiatives are building relations across non-
elite levels, creating familiarity in language, culture, and religion. At the same
time, increased interactions present potential for tensions as competition between
Asian states plays out in the Middle East, and Middle Eastern rivalries affect the
trajectory of Asian states’ regional involvement.
This series publishes monographs and edited collections on the political,
economic, strategic, and diplomatic interactions between Middle East and Asian
states. Contributions from a diverse range of perspectives and all regions are
welcome on International Relations, International Political Economy, Foreign Policy
and issue-specific topics such as security cooperation, politics of sport, politics of
religion, energy politics, Belt and Road Initiative and Eurasian development.
For more information, please visit the series webpage:
South Korea’s Middle Power Diplomacy in the Middle East
Development, Political and Diplomatic Trajectories
Hae Won Jeong
Asian Perceptions of Gulf Security
Edited by Li-Chen Sim and Jonathan Fulton
Asian Perceptions of
Gulf Security
Edited by
Li-Chen Sim and Jonathan Fulton
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Li-Chen Sim and Jonathan Fulton;
individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Li-Chen Sim and Jonathan Fulton to be identified as the
authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual
chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com,
has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non
Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Sim, Li-Chen, 1972- editor. | Fulton, Jonathan, editor.
Title: Asian perceptions of Gulf security / edited by Li-Chen Sim and
Jonathan Fulton.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022025341 (print) | LCCN 2022025342 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032130408 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032130439 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003227373 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Persian Gulf Region--Military relations--Asia. |
Asia--Military relations--Persian Gulf Region. | National security--Persian
Gulf Region. | Persian Gulf Region--Strategic aspects
Classification: LCC UA832 .A773 2022 (print) | LCC UA832 (ebook) |
DDC 355/.033053--dc23/eng/20221014
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022025341
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022025342
ISBN: 978-1-032-13040-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-13043-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-22737-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003227373
Typeset in Times New Roman
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
Contents
List of figures ix
List of tables x
Contributors xi
Acknowledgments xiii
1 Introduction 1
LI-CHEN SIM AND JONATHAN FULTON
2 Asian Powers and a Transitioning Gulf Order 8
JONATHAN FULTON
3 China’s ‘Zero-Enemy Policy’ in the Gulf: Dynamics and Tactics 30
DEGANG SUN
4 Japan’s Role in Gulf Security 50
YEE-KUANG HENG
5 (De)securitization Narratives Behind the Independent
Deployment of the Cheonghae Unit to the Strait of Hormuz 70
HAE WON JEONG
6 The Strategic Culture in Singapore: Impact on Relations
with the Gulf 86
LI-CHEN SIM
7 India in the Gulf: Multialignment in the Shadow of
Regional (In)security 107
MD. MUDDASSIR QUAMAR
viii Contents
8 Pakistan’s Political and Security Engagement with the
Gulf Countries 133
UMER KARIM
9 Asia in an Emerging Gulf Collective Security Framework 157
N. JANARDHAN
Index 179
Figures
6.1 Singapore’s oil imports (crude and products) from the GCC 94
6.2 S ingapore’s foreign direct investment in selected Gulf countries 96
6.3 G as imports into Singapore 98
7.1 I ndia–Persian Gulf bilateral trade (US$ million) 110
7.2 I ndia’s crude oil consumption and production
(million barrels per day) 111
7.3 P opulation of overseas Indians in the GCC states, 2020 113
7.4 F DI from GCC countries to India, January 2016–December 2020
(US$ million) 115
8.1 F oreign remittances to Pakistan from Gulf states (in US$ millions) 134
