India, Hormuz, and the unipolar illusion

The West Asia crisis underscores a widening disconnect between US military might and the achievement of durable strategic outcomes.

- Ajai Malhotra

India secured the safe passage of two LPG tankers through the Strait by reaching out to Iran — evidence that our bilateral channels retain value even amid conflict.

(ANI)

For New Delhi, the challenge is to pragmatically pursue India’s interests with the confidence that multi-alignment is not hedging against uncertainties but prudent statecraftThe US-Israeli air strikes on Iran and Tehran's Gulf-wide retaliation with drones and missiles, now in their third week, have rocked global energy markets and affected economies worldwide. The Strait of Hormuz remains nearimpassable. The US recently struck military targets at Iran's Kharg Island, through which 90% of Iranian crude exports flow, while warning that its oil infrastructure could be next. Israel then escalated further by striking Iran's South Pars gas field, the largest in the world, prompting Tehran to hit back at major energy facilities across Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE. Brent crude has surged past $115 a barrel. What was intended as a swift assertion of US dominance has transformed into a widening regional conflict, leaving spiralling oil prices, damaged energy infrastructure and deepening instability as its principal dividends. Even overwhelming military power does not automatically translate into uncontested control.

Nearly 10 million Indian citizens live and work across the Gulf, remitting over $50 billion annually and sustaining millions of families at home. India also supplies 12% of the global seafaring workforce. As tensions continue to escalate, the safety of our citizens and protection of their livelihoods demand that India engage all parties with greater diplomatic assertiveness, commensurate with our huge stakes.