India, May 30 -- West Asia's instability now directly threatens India's energy security, maritime trade routes, economic interests, and the safety of millions of Indians living across the Gulf

West Asia has ceased to be a distant crisis zone that India can manage with cautious rhetoric and calibrated ambiguity. The Iran-Israel-US war has made the region's instability immediate, structural, and deeply relevant to India's energy security, maritime access, trade routes, and the safety of millions of Indians across the Gulf. That reality leaves New Delhi with a choice: adapt strategically or keep reacting to shocks it should have anticipated.

For too long, India's West Asia policy has relied on a familiar formula: engage everyone, offend no...