Navigating asymmetry in the Indian Ocean region: Oman in the US-India-China strategic triangle

ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes the options available to small states in the Indian Ocean region (IOR) in an era of great power competition, using the case of Oman’s engagement with the strategic triangle of the United States, India, and China. Motivated primarily by concerns at the domestic and regional levels, Omani decision makers perceive good relations with each of the three powers to be important in addressing their most pressing concerns and have therefore avoided balancing or bandwagoning behavior. Instead, Oman has followed an omni-enmeshment approach whereby it uses these extra-regional relationships as a means of supporting their preferences for regional order while at the same time addressing domestic pressures.

KEYWORDS:

• Oman
• Omni-enmeshment
• Indo-Pacific
• Strategic triangle

Acknowledgement

This article was originally presented at the Gulf Research Center's annual conference at Cambridge University in July 2022.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 The GCC consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mohammed Al-Hajri

Mohammed Al-Hajri is a PhD candidate at the Department of Politics, Birkbeck, University of London. His research interests include Arab-Asia studies, with a particular focus on Sino-GCC relations, the foreign policy of smaller Gulf states, International Political Economy, and port infrastructure politics. The PhD thesis discusses the dynamics of China-GCC relations and the impact of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on port infrastructure in the GCC region.

Jonathan Fulton

Jonathan Fulton is an associate professor of political science at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.