Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Ehsan Razani ¹
• Nor Azizan Bin Idris ²

¹ PhD candidate of Strategy and Security Studies, School of History, Politics and Strategic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and the Humanities, National University of Malaysia (UKM)

² Associate Professor in Strategic Studies and International Relations Program at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities National University of Malaysia (UKM)

Abstract

The present paper aims to examine the Sino-Iranian conventional military relationship under President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during the years between 2005 and 2013. The study has attempted to briefly answer the question that how Tehran has continued to build stronger defense capability with the help of Beijing despite the American hegemonic, anti-Iranian policies. The paper has theoretically adopted a realist approach to International Relations and is methodologically based on document analysis. As the paper argues, despite the Western sanctions and U.S containment strategy against the Islamic Republic, Ahmadinejad's Iran, in line with its look to the East approach to foreign relations, successfully developed its indigenous military technology capability further through cooperation with the emerging powers such as the People's Republic of China on the basis of pragmatic calculations of power and interest.

Keywords

• Ahmadinejad
• China
• Iran
• Military – Relations