The discussion on Gulf-Asia relations rarely focuses beyond their expanding economic ties. Exploring the ‘what next’ dimension reveals attempts at ‘strategic’ cooperation that offer alternative possibilities for Gulf security. With the United States no longer dependent on the region's oil and the economic power centre shifting from the West to the East over the last two decades, the Gulf and Asian countries’ – called ‘free riders’ – long-term interests are unlikely to remain dependent only on the United States for the security of their energy supply chain.

The Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations’ stress on ‘America First’ as a reaction to public opinion for an inward-looking policy, has also reduced Washington's political-military interest and influence abroad. As a result, some Gulf countries are thinking out of the box, recalibrating their strategies and developing ‘omni-balancing’ security partnerships with influential Asian countries, without shutting the door on the United States. This diversifying or hedging strategy could serve as a backup plan against the possibility of further reduction of US involvement in the region.

In a world that is increasingly shaping to be multipolar, this opens possibilities for other players, including China, India, Japan, and Russia, to engage in a broader security cooperation approach in the Gulf. The Russian proposal for ‘collective security’ in the region is one such recent idea that is waiting on the table to be further explored.

This chapter analyses these dynamics and points to the 2019 international vigil to protect oil shipping in the region's waters as a precursor to the envisaged ‘collective’ security. It also argues that a such a Gulf security architecture offers the Western countries, primarily the United States, a stage to remain relevant in the affairs of the region.

US-Iran Tension

The sharp US-Iran rhetoric and confrontation, which also involved attacks on some facilities in or near the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, during 2019 and early 2020, underlined the fraying West-centric security architecture in the Gulf region. It also highlighted the need to hasten the process of exploring alternative mechanisms to ensure peace and security in a region that is vitally linked to global economic and political interests. This brings to the fore Asian countries, many of which have witnessed a major shift in their economic might in recent decades, bearing the potential to alter the global political-security landscape, including in the Gulf region.