Even as the United States of America and Iran have resumed attacking each other while
continuing with diplomacy in recent days, their fragile ceasefire has — at least on paper — held thus far. But there is one battlefield where that truce has never mattered: the Strait of Hormuz. And the biggest victims of the crossfire over that critical maritime passage have been Indians. This week, the US navy bombed three
separate merchant ships with Indian sailors near the Strait. Three Indian seafarers were killed, while dozens of others were rescued by authorities in Oman, which sits on one side of the waterway. In all, at least six Indian sailors have been killed during the war, and thousands more remain stranded on ships stuck in the Strait, increasingly vulnerable as food, medicines and hope start to run out. They are victims of rival blockades by the US and Iran, and of competing missiles fired by these warring nations.

The ministry of external affairs summoned the top US diplomat in India to condemn the latest attacks, just as it previously had called in Iran's envoy after Tehran's projectiles targeted ships with Indians. Yet it was unfortunate to see the foreign office spokesperson, in a media briefing, appearing to offer cover for the US bombings by pointing out that some of the attacked ships were under US sanctions. International law is clear: under no circumstances is the bombing of merchant ships with non-combatants on board legally acceptable. Indian national interest is even clearer: when Indians are killed on the open seas, the government's job is to defend its citizens, not justify, albeit in a roundabout way, the acts of the aggressor. It is especially important for India to take a firm and clear position on this issue because these are no longer isolated instances. Through their actions, the US and Iran have made clear that India's historical relations with them mean little to them when they choose to bomb ships.

They have also made it clear that they each view war and peace as negotiating tactics in a larger game of one-upmanship: bomb each other's territories or allies to seek a better deal and then talk peace when it suits them. Over the past 48 hours, the US president, Donald Trump, has threatened to dramatically escalate attacks on Iran before saying a peace agreement was imminent. When distrust and disregard for the rest of the world run so deep, it is hard to visualise any pact that actually guarantees long-term peace in the region. Any announcement towards a real end to the war would be welcome. But India must prepare for the possibility that the on-off fighting of the past few weeks could be the new normal for an extended period of time. In a world where international law lies in tatters, India cannot count on any other country to defend its interests. It must do so alone, boldly and without exceptions.