Discover the March issue of The Navigator – out now

This month, alongside our usual roundup of events, we examine how India is balancing oil imports amid geopolitical pressures and the impact of defunding Radio Free Asia on US soft power in the Indo-Pacific.

Both developments underscore the shifting balance of influence, where economic choices and media narratives are shaping global power dynamics.

News9DLMarch 28, 2025Trump, ASEAN, Taiwan, The Navigator, 9DASHLINE, US, United States, Indo-Pacific, China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Samoa, USAID, Chetan Rana, David MacSweeney, Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, Myanmar, Russia, Soft Power

Russia adds to India’s strategic drag in the Indo-Pacific

Written by Chetan Rana

As India navigates this new geopolitical landscape, it must critically reassess the touted advantages of its relationship with Russia and ensure that its foreign policy adapts to contemporary realities.

Faultlines9DLJuly 24, 2024Chetan Rana, 9DASHLINE, Russia adds to India’s strategic drag in the Indo-Pacific, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Moscow, July 2024 visit to Moscow, Vladimir Putin, Russian forces bombed a children’s hospital in Kyiv, 22nd India-Russia annual summit, India and Russia, Modi was conferred Russia's highest civilian honour, the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Indo-Russian ties, Historical nostalgia, New Delhi’, Indo-Pacific security architecture, Sino-Soviet split, Nixon-Kissinger, post-American world order, joint statement, Ukrainian President Zelensky, Indo-Pacific, Russia as a hedge against China, UN resolutions regarding Gaza, Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Putin's invasion of Ukraine, financing Russian aggression, supplying arms to Israel, Cold War history, S-400 missile systems, Sukhoi, Sukhoi and MiG fighter jets, 65 per cent of India's weapon purchases, COMCASA, LEMOA, Russian technology, Eurasia, Arctic, International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), Northern Sea Route, Russian crude oil, Arctic territories, Post-Ukraine invasion, Rajesh Rajagopalan, Donald Trump, White House, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS, Quad, Modi’s visit to Moscow, Soviet Union, multipolar world, geographical access to Eurasia and the Arctic

A humbled Modi returns to power — What lies ahead

Written by Manali Kumar and Chetan Rana

After a decade of sliding towards authoritarianism, a return to coalition politics promises a path to redemocratisation. Without a clear majority, the BJP can no longer bypass parliamentary scrutiny.

South Asia9DLJune 21, 20249dashline, Manali Kumar, Chetan Rana, Narendra Modi, third consecutive term, Jawaharlal Nehru, prime minister of India, BJP, Telugu Desam Party (TDP), Janata Dal (United) (JDU), National Democratic Alliance (NDA), Modi’s rise to power, Congress-led UPA government, over 400 seats, 240 seats, 272-seat majority, INDIA, opposition alliance, gaining over 100 seats, world’s fifth-largest economy, 200 billionaires, 250 million people out of poverty, zero-food children, economic hardships, strong GDP growth, COVID-19, Mid-Day Meals, Integrated Child Development Services, welfare spending, LPG usage, pen defecation reduction, public goods, teacher-to-student ratio, literacy and maths skills, National Education Policy 2020, Changes to school textbooks, Darwin’s theory of evolution, infrastructure spending, over USD 130 billion, Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Foreign direct investment, India's education system, gig jobs, low-paying employment, BJP’s Hindu nationalist agenda, hate speech against Muslims, Andhra Pradesh, NDA allies, 2002 riots, 2004 election defeat, special status to Andhra Pradesh, 2025 Bihar assembly elections, Bihar, council of ministers, Union Minister, Lok Sabha, Nitish Kumar, caste, Chief Minister, nationwide caste census, new welfarism, Agniveer scheme, short-term defence personnel induction program, armed services, Uniform Civil Code, national identity, Hindu majority, narrative of victimhood, Modi’s guarantee, NDA government, NDA, unemployment, stagnant wages, manufacturing sector, corruption, lowest GDP growth since liberalisation, Dr. Manmohan Singh, authoritarianism, coalition politics, a path to redemocratisation, parliamentary scrutiny, A humbled Modi returns to power — What lies ahead

Clashes in the South China Sea, looking back at the PCA Ruling

Written by Varenya Singh and Chetan Rana

China's persistent rejection of the tribunal's jurisdiction and ruling, along with its continuous assertion of sovereignty, underscores the limitations of international legal mechanisms in addressing deep-rooted geopolitical disputes.

Pacific, Power Politics9DLMarch 11, 20249DASHLINE, Clashes in the South China Sea, looking back at the PCA Ruling, Chetan Rana, Varenya Singh, South China Sea, Cold War, Europe, West Asia, Ukraine, Gaza, China, Philippines, South China Sea (SCS), SCS, China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, map, standard map, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), littoral states, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines Coast Guard, Sierra Madre, Second Thomas Shoal, Spratly Islands, Filipino, grey-zone activities, non-military vessels, territorial claims, maritime militia, Beijing, Manila, vessels, maritime territorial disputes, arbitral proceedings, arbitration, Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), PCA, PCA award of 2016, PCA ruling, China’s nine-dash line, nine-dash line, Annex VII, Arbitration Tribunal under Annex VII of UNCLOS, UNCLOS, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, sovereignty, delimitation, artificially built islands, delimitation of state boundaries, Article 9, unilateral, fishermen, marine resources, fishing, 12 nautical mile, extractive, purely extractive activity, self-dependent economic activity, maritime fishing zones, coral reefs, turtle, clam, international law, dispute, ASEAN, Code of Conduct (CoC), COC, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., non-claimant states, Australia, Japan, United States, us, USA, militarising, military exercises, sea lanes, environmental crisis, securitisation, marine diversity, sustainability, realpolitik, Israel-Hamas conflict

Fukushima’s waters: discharge decision, politics, and nuclear safety standards

Written by Shivani Singh and Chetan Rana

The fact that different states in the region, despite being exposed to similar risks, are not aligned in either supporting or protesting Japan’s decision is an indicator of the divisions being caused by the great power politics at play.

Faultlines9DLOctober 20, 2023Fukushima’s waters: discharge decision, politics, and standards of nuclear safety, 9dashline, Chetan Rana, Shivani Singh, Fukushima, nuclear, nuclear technology, Fukushima nuclear plant, International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, discharge water, Japan, Fukushima disaster, nuclear accidents, Indo-Pacific, Tōhoku earthquake, tsunami, nuclear reactor, core meltdown, radioactive materials, safety culture, nuclear industry, seismic, reform, earthquake preparedness, seismic designs, nuclear facilities, phenomena, plant operators, Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency, NISA, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, METI, mismanagement, safety inspections, power plant, international standards, commercial power reactors, Nuclear Regulatory Authority, Ministry of the Environment, disaster management, radioactive water, contaminated water, Fukushima reactors, ocean, Natural Resources and Energy, laws on nuclear safety, natural hazards, natural disasters, operational negligence, lax regulatory oversight, man-made disaster, China, Russia, North Korea, Sino-American great power competition, Pacific Islands, Solomon Islands, Fiji, ecological concerns, economic concerns, atomic tests, Runit Dome, US nuclear tests, Yoon Suk Yeol, Taiwan, Philippines, Cook Islands, Advanced Liquid Processing System, carbon-14, tritium, dilution, WHO, National Association of Marine Laboratories, NAML, UNCLOS, Paris Convention on Third Party Liability in the Field of Nuclear Energy, Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage, Convention on Nuclear Safety, CNS, earthquake, and nuclear safety standards, Pacific