India, April 8 -- The emerging frontier of conflict is no longer land alone - it is the sea. From the Strait of Hormuz to the South China Sea, maritime spaces are rapidly becoming arenas of strategic contestation. These waters carry the lifeblood of the global economy-energy flows, trade routes, and supply chains. Any disruption here is not regional; it is systemic, with immediate global consequences. Nearly one-fifth of global oil consumption transits through the Strait of Hormuz, underlining its strategic fragility.

Unilateral military responses are increasingly insufficient to secure critical chokepoints such as Hormuz. Evolving deterrence dynamics in the region have altered the strategic balance.

Decades of reliance on unilateral ac...