New Delhi, Oct. 13 -- The threads of commerce once wove tapestries of trade, with steady routes and exchange hubs lifting the prosperity of nations. But the map of international business is no longer tranquil-we now sail on the turbulent seas of hard power and violent oceans of geopolitics.

Marine piracy has evolved from rogue adventurism to a systematic assault on entire economies. Today, the fate of trade is held hostage by two bullies, one each from the East and West, determined to reverse half a century of progress and wield the single most devastating weapon: power.

In the last five years, the fabric of our existence has nearly been torn by a virus and now the fabric of trade is on its way to being shredded. The first was utterly u...