Indian Express | India faces a Russia dilemma

By Amit Kumar

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ThinkChina | Made in China or spent in China? Beijing’s impossible balancing act

By Amit Kumar

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The Indian Express | As Axiom-4 and Shubhanshu Shukla lift off, so does India

An Indian is in space for the first time in over 40 years. This is momentous for more than one reason. It marks the beginning of the era of Indian human spaceflight, with Gaganyaan planned for 2027, and eventually, the Indian Space Station in the next decade. There are ambitious missions that will add India to an elite club of space powers that currently consists of the US, China and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union).

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By Ashwin Prasad

NDTV | Opinion: Inside China's 'Low-Cost' Arms Exports, Serving Everyone From Pak To West Africa

China's arms exports to Pakistan are one part of a complex military production, export, and diplomacy ecosystem that Beijing has built. Over the years, China has focused on becoming self-reliant in the defence manufacturing domain. This process has included making export variants of major weapons. That said, there are challenges that China faces in its defence export agenda. These include political issues and quality-related concerns that make Beijing the lesser-preferred option over the world's top three defence exporters: the US, Russia, and France. Nonetheless, China's defence export market is expanding. And this has significant implications for India.

By Anushka Saxena and Manoj Kewalramani

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MoneyControl | ASEAN in the Crosshairs: Balancing great powers

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The Hindu | The political deadlock in Taiwan

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s biggest policymaking hurdle has been that his party had failed to achieve a majority in the Legislative Yuan, with the opposition KMT winning 52 seats out of the 113 parliamentary seats. Subsequently, the KMT has blocked vital steps to secure Taiwan’s internal democratic and legal processes.

By Anushka Saxena

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MoneyControl | Invisibilising Taiwan

A flawed interpretation of a UN General Assembly resolution has allowed multilateral bodies such as the WHO to keep Taiwan from contributing to its work in full measure. Individual countries, too, have used this resolution to limit engagement with Taiwan. To counter China’s influence, Taiwan has to expand its diplomatic outreach to ensure it’s not shut out.

By Anushka Saxena

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The Indian Express | BRI’s debt trap and China’s expanding footprint

When Beijing’s flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) marked its decadal milestone in October 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping said, “Viewing others’ development as a threat or taking economic interdependence as a risk will not make one’s own life better or speed up one’s development.” However, instead of mutually-beneficial interdependence, China today has managed to make 140 countries highly asymmetrically dependent on it for economic investment and trade. Many of these dependencies are a result of the over $1.175 trillion worth of construction contracts and non-financial investments Beijing has undertaken under the BRI. Now, analysts suggest that loans to the tune of a whopping $35 billion may be up for repayment in 2025, and most countries affected are financially vulnerable, developing economies.

By Anushka Saxena

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FirstPost | China’s duplicity on display during the India-Pakistan conflict |

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By Sriparna Pathak and Amit Kumar

IndianExpress | Protracted conflict between India and Pakistan will mean tough choices for Russia and China

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By Amit Kumar and Manoj Kewalramani

The National Interest | 'Indian Threat', '1962 War': How Chinese 'Experts' Are Batting For Pak Over India (Copy)

India and Pakistan are embroiled in hostilities in the aftermath of a terror attack on civilians in Pahalgam, Kashmir on April 22. India’s military response is the result of Pakistan’s military-jihadi complex perpetrating terrorism and discord in Kashmir. With Operation Sindoor, India has set a new normal by expanding the scale of its response to terrorism. This includes moving beyond Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and terror camps and sites to striking targets closer to military installations across Pakistan. 

By Anushka Saxena

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The Hindu | Redrawing the not-so-pretty energy footprint of AI

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has undoubtedly eased access to art and reduced the time and the effort required to complete certain tasks. For example, ChatGPT-4o can generate a Studio Ghibli-inspired portrait in seconds with just a prompt. But this ease comes at a significant energy cost that is often overlooked — one that has even led to Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) melting. As AI tools advance, this environmental impact will continue to become more detrimental, making this an unsustainable technology. How can AI be developed sustainably? And can leveraging nuclear energy, specifically Small Modular Reactors (SMR), be a possible alternative?

By Anwesha Sen & Sourav Mannaraprayil

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NDTV | 'Indian Threat', '1962 War': How Chinese 'Experts' Are Batting For Pak Over India

In the aftermath of the terror attack on civilians in Pahalgam, Kashmir, on April 22, 2025, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiankun commented that Beijing firmly opposes all forms of terrorism. And yet, China's posturing around the state of India-Pakistan relations has largely stuck to three assertions, which express its implicit support for Pakistan's position. 

By Anushka Saxena

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ThinkChina | Xi’s purge: Can a divided army fight?

The absence of CMC Vice-Chairman He Weidong raises questions on the stability of the Chinese PLA. As Beijing continues to emphasise “actual” combat preparedness and turn the heat on Taiwan, there is little scope for a military that cannot win a conflict it promises to.

By Anushka Saxena

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Indian Express | China is turning the heat on Taiwan

Since the inception of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader Lai Ching-te’s presidency in Taiwan, China’s policy signalling vis-à-vis the island has become much harsher and more aggressive. China’s stance on Taiwan has taken a more urgent and assertive turn in recent months. The unveiling of the new Shuiqiao amphibious vessels at Zhanjiang port in Guangdong, coupled with heightened activity and aggressive posturing by the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command — including the recent Strait Thunder 2025A exercises — signals a sharpened focus on readiness and control. At the same time, internal probes into top military figures such as Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice-Chairman He Weidong, former Political Work Department head Miao Hua, and Eastern Theater Commander Lin Xiangyang have effectively dismantled what was known as the “Taiwan-Fujian” faction within China’s military leadership. Adding to the sense of impending conflict, some outlets, citing unnamed intelligence sources, have suggested that a Chinese invasion of Taiwan could occur within six months — further fueling anxiety and speculation.

By Anushka Saxena

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Indian Express | In global trade war, China is unlikely to blink first. It has options to counter Trump

By Amit Kumar

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Indian Express | Black Sea Deal: Is it the beginning of the end for the Russia-Ukraine War?

With the new agreement brokered by the US, it is expected that even if not permanent, a long-term ceasefire in the Black Sea will finally allow for freedom of navigation and continuation of trade and commercial shipping. However, this time around, Russia, too, has learned its lesson, and has demanded that Western sanctions on its participation in global agricultural and fertiliser supply chains be immediately lifted, and a sanctioned Russian Bank be connected to the SWIFT international payment system – only then will it see the terms of the agreement through.

By Anushka Saxena

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Firstpost | Agentic AI: The next frontier in artificial intelligence

Agentic artificial intelligence follows the natural evolution of AI and a logical technological trajectory. These are new types of systems that can proactively identify problems, create plans, and execute complex tasks across digital environments with minimal human supervision. Regulatory response to these developments has to keep up.

By Arindam Goswami

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Moneycontrol | From Technological Rivalry to Global Governance: The path forward

The current geopolitical landscape is shaped by technological nationalism, driven by competition in AI and semiconductors. However, game theory and historical examples suggest that this phase will evolve into co-operative frameworks, balancing national interests with global technological cooperation

By Arindam Goswami

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Moneycontrol | Lessons from China's support for local startups — a path to innovation for India

China's local governments drive innovation through fiscal autonomy, incentives, and policy experimentation. India can adopt similar reforms by enhancing fiscal power, creating innovation zones, and aligning municipal leaders’ incentives with startup growth to foster a competitive, innovative economy

By Arindam Goswami

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