India and Pakistan Can't Let Conflict Spill Into the Sea

Following the killings of two dozen tourists picnicking in a meadow in the Kashmir region two weeks ago, India and Pakistan are on high military alert and trading accusations and sanctions. The Indians believe the Pakistanis sponsored the killings through longtime support of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. (An offshoot, the Resistance Front, claimed responsibility.) On Wednesday morning, India began a “focused, measured and non-escalatory” operation against nine sites of “terrorist infrastructure” in Pakistan, according to its ministry of defense.

While India administers Kashmir, both countries claim it, and significant numbers of troops — including highly trained special forces — are nose-to-nose on the disputed boundary. Both sides are breaking agreements for trading goods and conducting shipping at their Indian Ocean ports, and a crucial water treaty has been suspended. The US and China are attempting to calm the situation, to no avail.