The islands known as the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan have regained importance after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to the disputed territory. Russia has also conducted large-scale military exercises around the islands, which have provoked protests from Japan. Illustration by The Geostrata The renewed tensions over the islands come at a time when Russia’s military posture in the region is drawing greater attention from Japan

Recent reporting from Taipei Times regarding the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) operational planning highlights a fundamental paradigm shift away from traditional, high-attrition amphibious landing models towards systemic urban paralysis, grey-zone coercion and multi-domain encirclement. Illustration by The Geostrata Moving beyond the classic Joint Island Landing Campaign, PLA strategists are actively refining an operational framework termed “All-Domain Megacity Inc

In the last few years, especially after COVID-19, the world order has been fragmented with strategic uncertainty and gradual erosion of persisting traditional security arrangements. The post-Cold War liberal international order, which often relied on stable alliances, multilateralism, and most importantly of all, predictable, responsible leadership by major powers, is being transformed into a more contested landscape. Cover by The Geostrata Amid such global flux, countries an

The growing ties between India and Vietnam have always been traditionally viewed in the context of hard power realpolitik in the Indo-Pacific geopolitical landscape. Activities such as joint naval exercises, defense lines of credit, and strategic alignments in the South China Sea are cited as classic examples of pursuing a balance of power. Yet framing this partnership solely as a reactive response to security pressures overlooks its deepest foundation, which is a shared civi

When the Philippines had its landmark BrahMos deal signed in 2022, it was not simply procuring a missile battery; it was signalling a strategic alignment with India, by supporting a rules-based maritime order against an assertive China in the South China Sea. That signal has since grown louder, with Vietnam in advanced discussions with India, and Indonesia has also expressed its interest in procuring BrahMos. Illustration by The Geostrata The export orders surge is as a resul

On a map, they are almost insultingly small. A chain of islands so minute that the eye skips past them, drawn instead to the vast blue nothing surrounding them. But the ocean is not just an empty space. It is a highway. And an island is the only place you can build a tollbooth. And yet these fragments of territory, which are remote, often uninhabited, and ecologically fragile, are among the most contested pieces of land on earth. Empires were built to control them. Treaties h

In 2019, Delhi left the RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) due to concerns regarding asymmetric exposure to unchecked Chinese manufacturing for the Indian market through ASEAN routes. The exit was not irrational by any means; the concerns about arbitrage regarding rules of origin were justified. However, this has left India as the largest economy in the region behind China, without a diversified trade anchor to rely on. Illustration by The Geostrata Now, joini

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake - Napoleon Bonaparte The geo-political architecture of West Asia experienced a traumatic rupture in February 2026, when, in a joint military operation, the USA and Israel conducted airstrikes on Iran, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military and political actors in Tehran, plunging Washington and Tehran into a full-scale conflict. Illustration by The Geostrata Ignited by increasing rivalry bet

“The conqueror shall always endeavour to add to his own power and to weaken that of the enemy." - Kautilya, Arthashastra, Book VI In April 2026, the world witnessed another display of unapologetic power when the Dragon decided to cloak the mouth of the Scarborough Shoal with fleeting barriers and ships. What comes as a shock is how this act contradicts the UNCLOS and the Permanent Court of Arbitration's ruling that the shoal is well within the Philippines' Exclusive Econo

On April 23, 2026, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) commemorated the 77th founding anniversary of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), celebrating nearly eight decades of technological innovation and strategic reach that have defined its naval history since 1949. In the late 1970s, Deng Xiaoping’s reforms transformed China’s coast into an export- driven economic engine, making maritime security vital for national survival. Illustration by The Geostrata Following the

US President Donald Trump is set to visit China from May 13 to 15 for the Trump-Xi Summit, amid recent tensions on tariffs, the US’s sanctions on five Chinese refineries for purchasing Iranian oil and the new Chinese anti-sanctions law asserting that these sanctions “shall not be recognised, enforced or complied with”. Illustration by The Geostrata Although President Trump sought to ease these tensions with his new Board of Trade proposal to resolve trade-related issues and p

The Indo-Pacific region has emerged as the world’s new centre of gravity. Hosting nearly half of the world’s population and nearly two-thirds of the world's economy, the region’s stability is now synonymous with global prosperity. For decades, the Pacific region was seen primarily as a zone of economic cooperation, but it has now emerged as a critical theater for great power rivalry. Intensifying competition between the United States and China has transformed the region into

The ocean has always represented a kind of duality for India: it has offered far-reaching opportunities while exposing subtle weaknesses. The extent of India’s maritime footprint, with 7,516 kilometres of coastline and more than 2.4 million sq kilometres of Exclusive Economic Zone, dwarfs India’s landmass. While the Indian Ocean Region holds strategic significance for India, it also represents the economic lifeblood of the world. Approximately 40% of the physical oil trade a

The India-ASEAN narrative has evolved from a position of optimism in 2017 as the dialogue partnership turned 25, to a narrative of resurgence in 2022, and finally, the narrative of strategic repositioning and imperative reclamation as of today. What started as an executionary mechanism to India’s Look East Policy has now given rise to a regional partnership that has withstood geopolitical tremors and a systemic dismantling of the global order.

Security and strategy have been the guiding principles in today’s geopolitical scenario. The ASEAN, or Association of Southeast Asian Nations, has been at the forefront of ensuring a secure and stable world. At the core of it lies a critical region, the Indo-Pacific. The Indo-Pacific has been witnessing an evolving nature of geopolitics and is significant for regional groupings like ASEAN and QUAD. Illustration by The Geostrata The QUAD, comprising the United States, India, A

July 2024 marked the collapse of Sheikh Hasina’s unshakable regime, but also the beginning of a recalibration that is still unfolding. Illustration by The Geostrata Following the exit of Hasina, who was regarded as the architect of Bangladesh’s non-aligned foreign policy, what appears to be unfolding is a deliberate shift from a peripheral focus to a more region-centric posture of Dhaka's foreign policy. From allowing a Chinese-funded port project near St. Martin’s Island to

The rise of high-technology industries has fundamentally reshaped the balance of global economic and political power. Semiconductors, data centre infrastructure, and underwater submarine cables have become the strategic lifelines of the modern economy. Yet, these supply chains are highly vulnerable to geopolitical tensions, economic coercion, and military conflict, especially in Asia, where the United States and China are locked in an intensifying rivalry. Cover by The Geostr

India's maritime policy is experiencing a robust transformation that now emphasises technological innovations, smart diplomacy, and regional leadership. India is expanding its reach from coastal defence to the entire Indo-Pacific region through contemporary definitions of maritime power grounded on Artificial Intelligence and multilateralism. Cover by The Geostrata India's maritime policy reflects its maritime aspirations, with doctrines like SAGAR and the Indo-Pacific Oceans

“Only the dead have seen the end of war,” famously remarked General Douglas MacArthur, attributing this quotation to ancient Greek philosopher Plato in his farewell address to the graduating class of West Point in 1962, highlighting the intertwined nature of the growth of human civilisation and the inalienable role of conflict between humans. The foundation of the realist school of international relations is augmented by this belief. Cover by The Geostrata Realists believe th

2025 sets the stage to address various challenges with shifting power dynamics, fragmented alliances, unresolved conflicts, and...