Showing 1 - 10 of 17
Trump shows China how to handle Taiwan
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 17/03/2026
» Since returning to office last year, US President Donald Trump has ordered military strikes from the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to Africa and the Middle East, targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats and suspected terrorist groups. He has attacked Venezuela and kidnapped its leader. And he has joined Israel in a large-scale assault on Iran. Meanwhile, he is tightening a noose around Cuba, in the hope that the resulting humanitarian crisis will open the way for a "friendly takeover" of the island by the United States.
US strikes on Iran nuke plants risk backfiring
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 26/06/2025
» Israel and the United States have dealt punishing blows to Iran's nuclear infrastructure. "Operation Rising Lion" and "Operation Midnight Hammer" have been portrayed as precision strikes that will stop the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme in its tracks. But whatever the bombings might have achieved tactically, they risk forfeiting strategically, as Iran is now more convinced than ever that nuclear weapons are the only way to deter future aggression and ensure the regime's survival.
Tackling the global divide over the Ukraine war
News, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 17/03/2025
» At a time of rising geopolitical tensions and deepening global fragmentation, the Ukraine war has proved particularly divisive. From the start, the battle lines were clearly drawn: Russia on one side, Ukraine and the West on the other, and much of the Global South hoping only for the conflict to end. Now, however, alignments are shifting. Whether this will advance efforts to resolve the conflict and strengthen global stability remains to be seen.
Testing the Trump-Modi bromance
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 15/02/2025
» Last time Donald Trump was president, ties between the United States and India flourished. But the bilateral relationship began to fray during Joe Biden's presidency, owing not least to divisions over the Ukraine war. Will Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's latest meeting with Mr Trump at the White House mark the first step toward restoring this critical relationship?
The deepening political turmoil in South Asia
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 15/08/2024
» Violent student-led, Islamist-backed protests in Bangladesh have toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government, and mob attacks targeting those viewed as supporters of her secular Awami League party -- in particular, the country's dwindling Hindu minority -- are proliferating. At a time when neighbouring Myanmar is engulfed in violence and the Pakistan-Afghanistan belt remains fertile ground for cross-border terrorism, political upheaval in Bangladesh, two years after the overthrow of Sri Lanka's government, is the last thing India, the regional power, needs.
Joe Biden's flawed policy on Myanmar
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 23/12/2023
» As the Israel-Hamas war rages, the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza is grabbing headlines -- as well it should. But another armed conflict, in Myanmar, is also causing mass suffering, with more than 2 million people internally displaced and over a million more streaming into neighbouring Bangladesh, India and Thailand. And it is attracting far less international attention.
The conflicts of the new world order
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 14/11/2023
» The crises, conflicts and wars that are currently raging highlight just how profoundly the geopolitical landscape has changed in recent years, as great-power rivalries have again become central to international relations. With the wars in Gaza and Ukraine exacerbating global divisions, an even more profound geopolitical reconfiguration -- including a shift to a new world order -- may well be in the works.
America's Myanmar policy is simply all wrong
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 15/07/2023
» A recent joint statement by US President Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi "expressed deep concern about the deteriorating situation in Myanmar" and called for a constructive dialogue to aid the country's transition toward an inclusive federal democratic system. Unfortunately, the US-led sanctions policy has undercut this goal and made a bad situation worse.
Bedlam reigns in Afghanistan and Pakistan
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 02/06/2023
» Afghanistan and Pakistan are sinking deeper into disarray, and the US bears a significant share of the blame. As long as this long-troubled region remains in turmoil, Islamist terrorism will continue to thrive, with grave implications for international security.
Of debt and bondage with Beijing
Oped, Brahma Chellaney, Published on 26/11/2022
» Recently released details of Kenya's 2014 loan agreement with China to finance a controversial railway project have once again highlighted the predatory nature of Chinese lending in developing countries. The contract not only imposed virtually all risk on the borrower (including requiring binding arbitration in China to settle any dispute), but also raised those risks to unmanageable levels (such as by setting an unusually high interest rate). With terms like that, it is no wonder some countries around the world have become ensnared in sovereignty-eroding Chinese debt traps.