Taiwan's coast guard reported on 6 June that a Chinese coast guard vessel and an oceanographic survey ship operated in unison around the Pratas Islands, the first documented case of paired civilian-coded assets at this remote atoll. The conventional read frames this as another grey-zone irritation, one of more than thirty annual incursions since February 2024, to be absorbed and ignored. Illustration by Geopolitics Next That reading misses the structural shift. Pratas sits as

“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

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 Pacific Ocean is the Earth’s largest and deepest ocean, covering one-third of the Earth’s surface, housing the most varied array of algae & animals, and navigating trillions of dollars in trade annually. Yet, out of all the activities that take place here, the most interesting might just be the ongoing recalibration of power, as one pacifist nation’s actions quietly start a new era. Japan, in the legacy of WW2, is a war-renouncing nation. Illustration by The Geostrata Th

Held from the 4th of March, 2026 to the 12th, the “Two Sessions” , the annual meeting of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC) — the People's Republic of China’s national legislative body — and the 4th session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China’s paramount political institution, marked a critical event in shaping Beijing’s agendas for the year 2026. Illustration by The Geostrata An estimated 5,000

India is set to host two key summits in 2026, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) and the BRICS, assuming crucial geopolitical significance across the Indo-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America. New Delhi’s active role in the BRICS underscores India's outreach to the Global South, working towards a multipolar world order. The QUAD, on the other hand, has a diversified agenda ranging from maritime security to developmental partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. Illustration by

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

Geopolitics enthusiasts, we smell the brewing of the New World Order, and yes, of course, it does involve China, but here is a slight twist to it. The Big Three or the Asian Tigers, whatever you would like to call them, are gaining significant traction, primarily due to their proactive effort to safeguard regional and economic stability. But the larger question remains: is this convergence limited to strengthening the regional order, or does it extend to challenging America’s

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

We live in times when the global community stands at an inflexion point in history. The world is witnessing a tectonic shift in global...

The recently concluded Russia-North Korea Security Pact 2024 , entails a profound shift in the geopolitics of East Asian countries,...

Understanding the contemporary relations between the existing states in the Korean Peninsula highlights the contemporary diplomatic...

The Indo-Pacific region has become a pivotal arena for geopolitical competition, economic significance, and strategic alliances....

“ Reality is, after all, too vast for our frail understanding to fully grasp. Nonetheless, we must build our lives on the theory that...

India and the United States’ relationship has always been one for the books. It is a partnership pivotal in maintaining international...

The Japan we once knew - an economic powerhouse with pacifist principles - seems to be quickly changing now. With a long history of...

The Chinese Communist Party’s vision of rejuvenation by reunifying Taiwan back with its territory is still burning talks around the...

The Pacific has emerged as a crucial geopolitical arena, underscored by the escalating rivalry among global powers. Within this complex...

Empires have been the dominant form of large-scale political organisation from antiquity for at least two millennia, unlike the modern...