On a map, they are almost insultingly small. A chain of islands so minute that the eye skips past them, drawn instead to the vast blue nothing surrounding them. But the ocean is not just an empty space. It is a highway. And an island is the only place you can build a tollbooth. And yet these fragments of territory, which are remote, often uninhabited, and ecologically fragile, are among the most contested pieces of land on earth. Empires were built to control them. Treaties h

Myanmar represents far more than a neighbouring Southeast Asian nation to China; it is a strategically indispensable asset upon which Beijing has constructed an intricate system of economic, military, and political dependency. China, over the years, has increased its role in the nation, especially its hold in Myanmar, which has increased after the military coup of 2021. Illustration by The Geostrata The Chinese have made sure that Myanmar's dependency on them remains intact,

India's geostrategic posture in the Indian Ocean Region is an integral part of its defense umbrella, especially in India-China relations....

Over recent years, popular media and discussions have dubbed India an emerging major power. Enthusiastically, journalists and scholars...