A Comparative Analysis of the Gas Pipeline Geopolitics of China and India in the Central Asia Republics

Abstract

After the discovery of large oil and gas deposits in Central Asia, the region has become a vital battlefield for major world powers’ competing interests, resulting in a complex geopolitical and energy transportation interaction known as ‘pipeline politics’. After independence, multinational energy companies and global powers contacted the Central Asian Republics. Chinese investment has dominated the region’s energy sector throughout the past decade. India is strategically seeking Central Asia’s energy resources as it becomes more global. This article compares China’s and India’s Central Asian natural gas strategy and identifies research shortcomings. The complex geopolitical landscape is considered while examining their objectives and regional investments. This analysis reveals these methods’ motivations and their effects on the Central Asian Republics and the world. China has an advantage over India in Central Asian pipeline politics, making the region vital to China’s energy security.