India’s Counter-Piracy Operation: A Geopolitical Wormhole

January 25, 2024

Written by: Peter Zeihan

Today we’re talking about the Indians and pirates – sorry sports fans, not those ones. India launched a successful counter-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia, which has helped reaffirm its global strategic importance, but raised some eyebrows in the process.

India has a unique geopolitical position: they have an ultra-nationalist view on trade and an extreme reluctance to integrate with other nations. If you look back to the Cold War era, partnerships with Russia have left a bitter taste in the Indian’s mouths.

So, India will be pursuing its own economic path, independent of outside forces. As they look to double the size of their industrial plant, what they lack in quality, they’ll make up for in a market of 1.5 billion people.

The eyebrow raising portion of all this is that it means India could launch its own piracy operations. Meaning India will likely be the de facto controller of trade in the Indian Ocean Basin – a critical route for oil transport.

Other countries will have to find ways to work around this new obstacle, and financial incentives are probably going to be the best option. The US is far enough removed to take a hands-off approach and let the Indian’s determine the future geopolitical landscape of this region.

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