A lot of lessons from the Ukraine, Gaza wars, and the Ladakh standoff with China. In an interview with Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhuri, the Chief of Air Staff (CAS) dwells on lessons learned from the Russia-Ukraine war, the changing nature of war, and why the Indian Air Force will always be the first offensive choic…

The Indian Army's Southern Command is not just the biggest but also the oldest Command of the force. It covers 41% of the Indian landmass, 11 States, and four Union Territories. The Command hosts a large number of training establishments too. In a way, Southern Command is the Indian Army's training hub. In an interview with Editor-in-Chief Nitin A.…

The Russia-Ukraine war refuses to wind down, and the West keeps imposing sanctions on Russia-linked entities but human tragedy is piling up. Over a third of Ukraine’s population has fled their homes, reconstruction is getting costlier and the aftereffects of the conflict may last generations. So how does one assess the conflict as it stands today? …

The World Bank recently released its annual tracker on global remittances for 2023. It showed that globally remittances at $669 billion grew higher than forecast. India, like always, was the top recipient with $125 billon—accounting for little under fifth of the global remittances in 2023. According to the World Bank, a distinctive feature of remit…

Iran is more sinned against than sinning, is the message from Seyed Mohammad Marandi, professor at Tehran University and a political commentator. Marandi gave a bird’s eye view of how Tehran sees the regional situation at a time when the US has carried out air strikes on armed groups in Syria believed to be loyal to Iran. The US classifies these gr…

India and Australia already share a robust defence relationship but that can be deepened, says Philip Green, Australian High Commissioner to India. We are not only looking for interoperability between the many platforms that we share but we could hope to go beyond interoperability, to interchangeability, the envoy told StratNews Global Editor-in-Ch…

Nobody is speculating on the next meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Emmanuel Macron, but with six meetings last year alone, there is clearly a lot going on in the India-France relationship, says Arun Kumar Singh, former ambassador to France. Ambassador Singh was on The Gist, talking about President Macron’s recent visit and…

A “dangerous separatist”, as China calls William Lai, will be Taiwan’s next president, which means the arsenal that Beijing deployed, including military exercises and propaganda, failed to make a difference. There is a growing body of people in Taiwan who now feel that they have a separate identity which is not identical to that of the mainland, sa…

The armed exchange between Iran and Pakistan targeting their respective halves of Balochistan was sudden and unexpected. But it is not that they haven’t clashed before in that region, says Tilak Devasher, author of a book on Balochistan and former special director Cabinet Secretariat. Devasher says the Pakistanis have been backing the Sunni militan…

India’s premier defence research body — the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) — which was set up over 60 years ago needs to change the way it operates. That’s what a committee headed by K. VijayRaghavan, former principal scientific advisor to the government, has recommended. So what is wrong with DRDO and what changes has the com…

William Lai’s election as the next Taiwanese president has not gone down well with China which has said he doesn’t represent the choice of the masses. So what does it mean for China-Taiwan relations that are already under considerable strain? China will continue its policy of harassment against Taiwan; coercion and intimidation will be the norm and…

National security looks at capabilities and capabilities could be technologies, either old or new but traditionally it’s a combination of both, says Anshuman Tripathi, Member, National Security Advisory Board (NSAB). Speaking to StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale, he said technology is supposed to augment human capabilities, be a for…

Has growing proximity between Russia and China and India’s greater engagement with the United States strained the India-Russia bilateral relationship? Both India and Russia might have special relationships with other partners but we can be sure about India and you can be sure about Russia that it’s a choice by us and by you; it’s not for anybody el…

The recent round of elections to state assemblies saw the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pull off an audacious win in Madhya Pradesh. Not only did it overcome four-term anti-incumbency, but it also managed to win two-thirds majority in the state assembly. Undoubtedly, the big draw was Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, there is a very important s…

Talks with China are continuing at both military and diplomatic levels but we are also maintaining a robust posture along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), says Army Chief General Manoj Pande. In an exclusive interview with Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale, Gen. Pande talks about Indian Army's transformation journey, modernisation, aatmanirbharta i…

From Kyaukpyu and Chittagong ports on India’s eastern seaboard to Hambantota in Sri Lanka and Gwadar in Pakistan, China has strategically invested all along this country’s maritime borders, with serious implications says Alok Bansal, former naval officer who has been writing and researching on India’s neighbourhood. He spoke to Surya Gangadharan ab…

In recent years India has witnessed unprecedented success in non-cricket sports. The big story has been the remarkable revival of Indian hockey—men, women, and juniors. Alongside we saw Neeraj Chopra win a gold medal in javelin at the Olympics. Similarly, our athletes competing in archery, boxing, badminton and so on are on the winners podium at va…

The Northern Army Commander has responsibilities along borders facing both China and Pakistan. In this exclusive interview with Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi delves into issues involving the areas that face Pakistan first and then addresses those on the Chinese side. The situation in Jammu and Kashmir reflects transformat…

In an exclusive interview with Nitin A. Gokhale, the former Army Commander of Army Training Command, Shimla and UPSC Member, Lt Gen Raj Shukla (Retd) spoke extensively on India’s National Security Futures’. Spelling out the rapid changes in warfare brought about by informational age technologies already proliferating in the neighbourhood, Gen Shukl…

Sushant Sareen is not known for mincing his words. In a chat with Ramananda Sengupta, the Senior Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation who ranks among the leading Indian experts on Pakistan and India’s place in the world discusses the issues of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the Khalistani terrorist living in the US that Indian agents reportedly tri…

Eight years ago India teamed up with France to launch the International Solar Alliance (ISA) on the first day of the Paris meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP). This took the world by surprise, which till then believed that India naysaying could sabotage the crucial talks to battle climate change. Indeed, this was the coming out moment for In…

On this day 52 years ago, India won the war against Pakistan, which led to the creation of a new country (Bangladesh). It was a swift military operation but was planned over months after the Pakistani army went on a killing spree in late-March that year in what was then East Pakistan. As the Indian military prepared for an operation, Indian authori…

The India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) is emerging as a key pivot around which the India-US relationship will be defined in the coming year. In a session moderated by Nitin A. Gokhale at the recently held Global Technology Summit hosted in conjunction with Carnegie India and the Ministry of External Affairs, panellists…

Alok Bansal, Director of India Foundation on the Supreme Court’s verdict on the government’s move to abrogate Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir says the “historic” verdict has provided a legal sanctity to the government’s decision which now cannot be overturned. This decision now lays to rest the perception among some people in J&K that Jammu and Ka…

An effort that has gone in from the top leaderships of India and US to generate momentum at various levels, especially at the business level, is now showing results, says Vivek Lall, Chief Executive of General Atomics and a Board member of USIBC on the India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET). Speaking about the focus areas …

We have moved a case for a third aircraft carrier, the second that can be indigenously built, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar has told Nitin A. Gokhale. In an exclusive chat on board INS Visakhapatnam, the Admiral said the Indian Navy has to keep an eye on the vast Indian Ocean Region and an even wider area in the Indo-Pacific. “The idea is to have…

As global temperatures rise and sea ice thaws, geopolitics is hotting up in the cooler climes of the Arctic, courtesy the Northern Sea Route (NSR). If the passage becomes ice-free the whole year round due to global warming, it could have a major impact on the global commercial markets. It will become a shorter shipping route between Northeast Asia …

It would be extremely naïve and dangerous to assume that the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s signature foreign policy initiative, is losing steam, says Dr Walter Ladwig, a Senior Lecturer in International Relations at King’s College, London. The question mark is important, he told Ramananda Sengupta, because there are indic…

China is not a normal country...don't think you can have a normal relationship with China, says Cleo Paskal, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Washington DC. She highlights the implications of the marathon meeting between the US and Chinese Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in San Fra…

As Israel steps up its ground offensive in Gaza in retaliation for the deadly attacks by Hamas on October 7, voices favouring a ceasefire have grown. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has warned of a ‘long’ war that would destroy the terror infrastructure of Hamas. This is the moment for friends to step in and tell both sides that hostility by itself i…

The world will have to unite much more strongly against terror, says Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The attack on Israel(by Hamas) was designed to get maximum response but it turned out to be a miscalculation, he told StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale on ‘The Gist’. The former diplomat, who has served as India’s permanent repres…

For the last few years, the Chinese economy has come under scrutiny, especially after the West initiated decoupling. Its rapidly slowing economy has got commentators claiming that its economic end is near. Inevitably, the reality is a lot more nuanced. Indeed, the Chinese economy is facing serious risks, but it is nowhere near a “Lehman moment”. In…

Against the backdrop of an ongoing border standoff with China that’s over 3 years old, India has “no option but to commence a dialogue with China, simply because you don’t have the luxury of being separated by oceans and continents,” says former Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale. The other Quad partners have also entered into talks with China and hav…

A few days ago, the NITI Aayog shared a sneak peek of the vision document for India @2047. The big headline was the target of $30 trillion set by the institution for the country’s economy - which means growing the economy nearly 10X from the present level of $3.4 trillion. Can India pull this off? Remember that global circumstances are extremely in…

If President Biden does visit (for India’s Republic Day) in January, it will really show his commitment to India because he’s going to be in full on campaign mode by that point,' says Lisa Curtis, Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Programme at the Centre for a New American Security (CNAS). Additionally, the 'India-U.S ‘partner…

The India-US 2+2 dialogue last week in Delhi was routine in many respects but such meetings are required to push bureaucracies and boost confidence on either side, says Vice Admiral Shekhar Sinha, former Commander of Western Fleet and head of Integrated Defence Staff. Adds the agreement on building the General Electric engine in India is a continui…

Bonnie S. Glaser, MD of the Indo-Pacific Programme at the German Marshall Fund of the US in conversation with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi explores the anticipated Biden-Xi meet at the APEC Summit, expectations, outcomes, and the future of US-China relations. To watch the full interview, click on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

Velina Tchakarova, geopolitical strategist, elaborates on her analysis of the world which is “already in the context of a Cold War 2.0”. She discusses conflicts and crises in global hotspots and the risks of further India-China military tension. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFQeT_--t78

The diplomatic boycott by some nations of the Winter Olympics being held in Beijing has once again drawn world attention towards human rights abuses of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang. And religion does play a role, ironically in a so-called atheist state. The Chinese Communist Party sees religions as competitors, says James Millward, Professor of Inter…

The recent US commando raid, which led to the killing of ISIS chief Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in Syria, has left many counter-terrorism experts downplaying the operation and warning that his death will not prevent the resurgence of the group. Already, ISIS is expanding its base in both Iraq and Syria. However, Dr Adil Rasheed, Research Fel…

A year after the junta seized power in Myanmar, the situation continues to be bleak: there’s no let-up in violence, the economy is in bad shape and the military keeps cracking down on opponents. But it hasn’t been able to consolidate control, says Thomas Kean, Editor-in-Chief of ‘Frontier Myanmar’, a fortnightly magazine. In this podcast with Strat…

The recent Houthi drone attacks upon the UAE is significant as it has dragged another actor into the over six-year-long Yemen conflict which so far was being conducted between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. Dr Alvite Ningthoujam, Assistant Professor at Symbiosis School of International Studies and an expert on West Asia believes that the timing of t…

The Ukraine crisis shows no signs of waning; the United States has rejected Russia’s demand to bar Ukraine from NATO but diplomatic initiatives continue. Negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany have reaffirmed commitment to the long-standing ceasefire agreement in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin is eyeing the long game and wa…

After the Malian junta pushed back elections by four years, the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed harsh economic sanctions on the country. There have been huge protests in Mali against the sanctions, with most of the anger directed at former colonial power France which has had a troop presence in Mali for nearly a…

Tensions have been raised as North Korea continues to conduct ballistic missile tests. The tests which came after the United States put more sanctions on the DPRK has most people wondering as to how far Kim Jong Un is likely to go and what is likely to be the US’s response. Korea expert Professor Ramon Pacheco Pardo who is Professor of Internationa…

A meeting of the foreign ministers of The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that was to take place in Cambodia—the current chair of the 10-member bloc—next week has been postponed indefinitely. The official reason is that some members can’t make it due to other engagements but there’s more to it. The Malaysian foreign minister has said…

A video released by the Chinese official media on New Year’s Day shows troops with a Chinese flag and claims that the location was Galwan. Propaganda videos by the Chinese are not uncommon but this one was meant—mainly for Chinese audiences—to project that Xi Jinping has a fim border policy in place, says Tibetologist, historian and author Claude A…

Gabriel Boric, 35, will be Chile’s youngest president. The former student leader and Leftist candidate defeated his far-right rival José Antonio Kast in a highly polarising election in which the two candidates put forth starkly different visions for the Latin American nation. Both of them come from parties that have never governed Chile. In this po…

The recent flurry of high-profile visits conducted by the UAE suggests that the Emiratis are looking to not just bolster but balance ties with fellow countries in the region. The visit by Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett – the first time an Israeli PM has officially visited the UAE – occurring just after the UAE NSA Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed …

What’s behind Saudi Arabia’s decision to ban the Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary movement launched in India nearly a century ago, which has a huge following, especially in South Asia? It’s an attempt by an authoritarian regime that has been accused of human rights abuses to repaint the image of the kingdom and its leader (Crown Prince Mohd b…