India and Indonesia Developing Sabang as a Port, Not a Base
September 1st, 2026
Via ASPI’s The Strategist, a look at how India and Indonesia are developing Sabang as a port, not a base: India’s interest in developing Sabang port in northern Sumatra is often interpreted as a response to China’s expanding maritime presence in the Indian Ocean. This does not capture India’s more immediate priorities. Sabang will acquire […]
Read more »War Made the Case For IMEC, Not Against It
July 6th, 2026
Via Ethan Chorin’s substack, commentary on how the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor’s vulnerabilities are the very reasons it is worth building: The status of IMEC, or India–Middle East–Europe Economic Corridor, may be the best indicator of who’s winning the current war in the Middle East, and how prepared the region is for worse crises ahead. The […]
Read more »China Was Once Buying Up Sri Lankan Ports. Now It’s India’s Turn.
April 19th, 2026
Courtesy of The Diplomat, a look at how the Indian Ocean has no shortage of distressed strategic assets: financially stressed yards, ports, and logistics infrastructure in small states that cannot sustain them independently. Nearly 20 years after China stirred fears about “debt trap diplomacy” with its construction and takeover of the Hambantota Port in Sri […]
Read more »A Gateway to the Gulf: India Inks Economic Pact With Oman
December 19th, 2025
Via Modern Diplomacy, a report on a new deal between India and Oman that strategically diversifies India’s trade partnerships at a time of escalating U.S. tariffs, which have risen to 50% on certain Indian goods: India has signed a landmark economic partnership agreement with Oman, securing zero-duty access for over 98% of its exports as […]
Read more »China, Quad and the Rare Earths Mineral Competition in Myanmar
December 10th, 2025
Via Asia Times, a look at how ethnic rebel groups’ advances against the junta have disrupted Chinese resource-extraction dominance: As the US-China rivalry spirals, it is spilling over into new domains, particularly those involving rare earth minerals, regional supply chains, and emerging technologies. Countries with fragile political systems but high geoeconomic value are increasingly turning […]
Read more »Great Game Intensifies for Myanmar’s Kachin Rare Earths
November 28th, 2025
Via the Asia Times, a look at how US-India cooperation in REE refining could give Kachin rebels controlling mines a strategic alternative to China In the global contest over critical minerals, Myanmar has emerged as an unlikely pivot. Rare earth elements (REE)—dysprosium, terbium, and others indispensable for magnets in wind turbines, electric vehicles, and advanced […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.