By Shubhi Malhotra and Dr. Adityanjee Image Courtesy: China US Focus Introduction In diplomacy, the calendar is rarely incidental. When Russian President Vladimir Putin touched down in Beijing on the evening of May 19, 2026, for his 25th visit to China, the direction of events surrounding the trip carried a message as deliberate as it can be. His arrival came barely four days after U.S. President Donald Trump had concluded his own two-day summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping

By Abia Fathima, Research Officer, C3S Image Courtesy: The Atlantic Introduction Coined by Political Scientist Graham Allison in the early 2010s and popularised in his 2017 book Destined for War, the “Thucydides Trap” has become a term for a terrifyingly simple historic pattern, a pattern which displaces dynasties as a rising power threatens its existence. The Thucydides Trap has transformed from an academic footnote to one of the most heavily scrutinised idioms in modern geo

Commander YVV Prasad, IN (Retd.) Part I of INDIA- CHINA SERIES INDIA AND CHINA : Lessons from Four Decades of Scientific, Technological and Industrial Transformation - Reflections on Science, Technology, Industry and National Capability for India's Next Leap: Strategic Insights for India's Future Development Image Courtesy: CGTN AIM OF THE PAPER This paper seeks to examine how sustained national vision, long-term planning, institutional continuity, educational investments, i

By Shubhi Malhotra & Dr. Adityanjee Image Courtesy: The Print Introduction The Indian Ocean is no longer merely a highway for commerce. It has become the principal arena of twenty-first-century geopolitical competition in the maritime domain, a theatre where great powers jostle for influence, non-state actors exploit ungoverned maritime spaces, and climate-induced disasters test the resilience of small island nations. Against this backdrop, the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC)

By Balaji Chandramohan Image Courtesy: MC In an effort to boost its strategic presence ahead of the centenary of the People Liberation Army, China’s Air force and Army has jointly increased its strategic reach in the Tibet region and in the Lhunze Air base pointing towards India’s Northern borders which may have wider strategic impact as India is contemplating dividing its Air Land forces and integration among its Tri Services to negate threats from both Pakistan and China in

How the 2026 Beijing summit reshapes risks and opportunities for regional middle powers By Rohit KA and Dr. Adityanjee Image Courtesy: Asia Times A summit shaped by Iran, trade, and Taiwan The US President Donald Trump met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 14 - 15, 2026, in the first visit by a US president to China in nearly a decade. This was Trump’s first state visit to China in his second term. The US agenda focused on stabilizing a strained relationship amid

By Mr M R Sivaraman IAS (Retd), Former Revenue Secretary For six decades, New Delhi has sought peace with Beijing. What it received instead is a doctrine of deception. As a retired civil servant who has seen India’s China policy up close, I write with anguish, not anger. The pattern is unmistakable. The betrayal began in 1962. Panchsheel was still warm on paper when China invaded, occupied Aksai Chin, and scarred our northern frontier. That wound never healed. Beijing still c

By Harsh Sinha & Dr. Adityanjee, Council for Strategic Affairs Image Courtesy: Universal Record Introduction: Cyber warfare has emerged as a defining domain of strategic competition in the 21st century, blurring the boundaries between war and peace, civilian and military, and physical and cognitive spaces. China has developed a deeply integrated cyber warfare architecture combining state, military, and civilian capabilities into a unified strategic instrument. India, while ad

By Sneha S.S Image Courtesy: Vox Abstract China’s growing influence in South Asia has sparked a significant debate about what kind of reflections it has on international relations. Beijing likes to showcase its moves as soft power, that is cultural festivals, scholarships and exchange programmes. But researchers and policymakers see something sharper, the strategies that twist and change information slowly change into local institutions. This paper aims to understand how Chi

By Abia Fathima, Research Officer, C3S Image Courtesy: The Economist Introduction The geopolitical architecture of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has entered a phase of profound structural transformation, marking the most significant shift in regional energy diplomacy since the conclusion of the Second World War. For eighty years, the regional order was defined by the foundational encounter between President Franklin D. Roosevelt and King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud aboard the USS

By Arul Braighta Arulanantham Image Courtesy: China Daily An occasional Paper is a single topic research summary of the knowledge surrounding an issue or a problem. It summarises the issue giving clear, concise, and complete information describing all facets of a particular issue including a detailed illustration in the form of images, data, and facts. It also includes recommendations for action and predictions on the future course of an issue. Executive Summary Between Octob

The Annual Report 2025–2026 of the Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S) presents a comprehensive overview of the Centre’s activities, achievements, and contributions over the past year. It reflects C3S’s continued commitment to advancing research and analysis on China and its implications for India and the broader Indo-Pacific region. During the year, C3S sustained its focus on producing high-quality research, organising discussions on issues of strategic relevance, and fos

By Annunthra Rangan Image courtesy: AIIA March 28th marks one month since the United States and Israel launched their military campaign against Iran. In the weeks that followed, Tehran has suffered significant losses, including the deaths of key figures within its leadership. Yet despite the scale of the assault, Iran has shown no signs of capitulating and the manner in which Washington has handled this conflict has raised serious questions about the coherence of its strategy

By Harsh Sinha and Dr. Adityanjee Image Courtesy: News X Introduction The expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) in February 2026 brought an end to the last remaining bilateral nuclear arms control agreement between the United States and the Russian Federation. This change represents a fundamental shift from a regulated bipolar nuclear order that was carefully crafted during the post-cold war era to an uncertain, unpredictable and competitive multip

From the first strike to the burning Strait By Arul Braighta Arulanantham Image Courtesy: The Virginian The Spark: How a War Without a Declaration Began On the night of February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel launched a massive coordinated strike on Iran under the operational name Operation Epic Fury. The targets were not ambiguous. They explicitly targeted Iranian missile infrastructure, nuclear sites, air defenses, and the leadership of the Islamic Republic itself.

By Prof Yoichiro Sato and Dr. Adityanjee Introduction Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi led a charm offensive in her recent summit meeting with US President Donald Trump on Thursday, March 19 th , 2026. The summit succeeded in generating mostly positive receptions both in Tokyo and Washington, D.C. Aside from the successful visual and sound presentations, however, there were both additional notable successes, as well as shortcomings. The key topics discussed included the

By Rohit KA and Dr. Adityanjee Image Courtesy: The Economist Introduction In 2018 in its White paper on China’s Arctic policy China formally declared itself as a “Near-Arctic” State. The rhetoric about the near-Arctic state had been floated around by China since 2012-2013 onwards at the time of its initial application for an observer-ship in the Arctic Circle. This concept of China as a “near-Arctic country," raises a fundamental question: does this represent mere verbal gymn

By Balaji Chandramohan As India starts re-organizing its military command matrix it will be interesting to see how this reconstitution will be perceived in the years to come and the sum effect it will have on New Delhi’s evolving Maritime Strategy. 1 Theatre Command and Integration in Indian context from a maritime connotation India’s approach to theatre command was influenced by China's military modernization, under President Xi Jinping, which has been marked by reforms t

By Annunthra Rangan Image Courtesy: Times of India Abstract: The recent conflict involving Iran has reshaped regional geopolitics in West Asia, raising critical questions about war management, deterrence, and the responses of major external actors. This paper examines how Iran has navigated the conflict through a strategy centered on asymmetric deterrence, distributed military command, and economic pressure through energy geopolitics. Particular attention is given to Iran’s a

By Shilpa Susan John , Research Officer, C3S Image courtesy: CNBC China’s dual position as the largest greenhouse gas emitter that contributes around 30% of world total and as the largest producer of renewable energy creates a complex dynamic in the global climate landscape. China’s transformation is shaped by environmental needs and the urgent requirement for technological change at a crucial time. For the past decades of the century, the country was infamous for its greenho