I interviewed one of America's most senior strategists

We talked about India, America and the threat from China

His big argument: India and America are not ready to take on China

🧵 This week, I sat down with Dr. Ely Ratner

Ratner served as President Biden's Assistant Secretary of Defence for the Indo-Pacific from 2021 to 2025

He handled America's alliances and partnerships (including with India) even as China's military power grows

Here's what he told me

The Air India Kanishka bombing could have been stopped

Canada was told about the attack and did nothing

The consequence: 329 lives lost on June 23, 1985

🧵on this story On 23 June 1985, Air India 182 (also known as "Kanishka") flying from Toronto to London exploded

A bomb placed in the plane's baggage hold caused the explosion

All 329 people on board - Indian & Canadian citizens - were killed

It was the worst terror attack in Canada's history

Meet Jason Miller - India's $1.8 million asset in Washington

India just hired Miller on a big contract to lobby for its interests in America

He's expected to help India counter Pakistan and engage with Donald Trump

🧵on this controversial figure Last month, news broke that India's Embassy in Washington DC hired SHW Partners LLC to lobby for it with the Trump administration

The firm - helmed by former Trump adviser Jason Miller - will be paid a monthly fee of $150,000 by the Indian government for its services

India is clashing with a major NATO power

Turkey has allied with Pakistan and challenged India over Kashmir for decades

BUT now, India is pushing back hard

🧵on India and Turkey Turkey is one of West Asia's most powerful nations

It is a part of NATO, has a GDP of over $1 trillion and is a major player in global politics

But for decades, India and Turkey have had a difficult relationship

This is the story of that relationship

India is facing a dangerous new coalition

They call themselves the Three Brothers Alliance

Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan are working together to challenge India

🧵 In 2021, Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan met for a key summit in the city of Baku

They walked out of the summit with plans to build closer political, economic and military ties

Over the last four years, their quasi-alliance has come to be known as the "Three Brothers Alliance"

India's military response to Pakistan is finally here

25 minutes of precision strikes, 9 terror camps destroyed, dozens of casualties

Here's everything we know about Op Sindoor🧵 On early Wednesday morning, the Indian Armed Forces launched a series of precision strikes across Pakistan

According to the military, 9 targets were hit and destroyed

These include Jaish-e-Muhammad headquarters in Bahawalpur, a Lashkar-e-Taiba base in Muridke and other camps

Pakistan will never stop fighting India

Its foreign policy is built on one obsession: stopping India's rise

One theory explains why Pakistan just can't change

🧵on why Pakistan is the way it is Since 1947, Pakistan has been India's biggest security problem

Pakistan has launched four wars against India

It has backed insurgencies in Punjab, Kashmir and the Northeast and sponsored terror attacks on Indian soil

But, these policies have devastated Pakistan

India just froze the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan

It's a move that could wreck Pakistan's economy and society

🧵on why this is a big deal The Indus Waters Treaty was signed b/w India and Pakistan way back in 1960

The agreement was brokered by the World Bank

Now, the big problem was how to split the waters of the Indus River Basin

The area has several major rivers: the Indus, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, Beas and Jhelum

India just ordered a historic retaliation against Pakistan

The Modi govt took 5 major decisions to punish Pak for the Pahalgam attack

Here's all you need to know about it 🧵 India's Cabinet Committee on Security concluded its meeting today

India has decided to punish Pakistan for sponsoring the Pahalgam terrorist attack with a 5 point retaliation plan

Here's what it said

Donald Trump just launched a new global trade war

Here's all you need to know about how Trump's tariffs impact India

🧵 Today, US President Donald Trump announced "reciprocal tariffs" on countries around the world

Tariffs are taxes imposed by a country on goods imported from another country

Trump believes US goods are unfairly tariffed by trade partners - which hurts American businesses

Bangladesh is replacing India with its biggest rivals

For 15 years, Dhaka was India's closest friend in Asia

But Muhammad Yunus is now rapidly improving ties with Pakistan and China

🧵on why India is worried about Bangladesh Ever since the fall of Sheikh Hasina's govt in Bangladesh, India has been faced with a problem

Bangladesh's interim govt - led by economist Muhammad Yunus - has pushed for closer ties with Pakistan

Here's just a short list of what both countries have done together

India has a key diplomatic tool to help its geopolitical rise

They call it "disaster diplomacy"

India uses it to help friends and even rivals like Pakistan fight natural disasters

🧵as India sends aid to Myanmar Today, India began an operation to supply humanitarian relief to Myanmar after an earthquake killed over 1000 people

Operation Brahma is simply the latest in a string of global disaster relief ops

Over 20 years, India has developed a unique ability to respond to these crises

India's most valuable strategic project is stuck

20 years ago, India started building a highway to connect Asia and counter China

But a brutal conflict is standing in India's way

🧵on this story This project is the India-Myanmar-Thailand Trilateral Highway

The idea was first proposed back in 2002

The plan was for a 1360 km highway to link Moreh in India's Manipur to Thailand's Mae Sot

Existing road networks could then connect India to Vietnam and all of SE Asia

India and America fought a secret war together

Their spies spent years destroying one enemy

That enemy was Communism in India

🧵on this battle This story begins in 1957

In that year, the Communist Party of India won a stunning victory

It defeated the ruling Congress Party in Kerala's state election

The CPI then formed the first non Congress govt in any part of India since 1947

Pakistan's Gwadar Port was meant to be a nightmare for India

China wanted to use the port to counter India's navy

BUT, this strategic asset in Balochistan is now in chaos

🧵 Gwadar was once just a small fishing village

Located in Balochistan, Gwadar belonged to the Sultanate of Oman

In 1954, a US geological survey found that Gwadar was suitable for a deep-water port

In 1958, Pakistan purchased it from Oman for $3 million

India has a secret defence project in the Indian Ocean

New Delhi has refused to talk about it for 10 years

But some say India is building a vital military base against China

🧵on this story Agalega is a remote island, located in the Southwest Indian Ocean, that is part of Mauritius

The island is home to 300 people

Experts believe the island is strategically located

It is close to the Mozambique channel, a key maritime route for commercial ships & oil tankers

I just interviewed one of India's most experienced diplomats

His big take: India got the Ukraine war totally right

Here's why🧵 Yesterday, I interviewed Ambassador Pankaj Saran (@PankajSaran11)

Amb. Saran served as India's envoy to Russia and as Deputy NSA until December 2021

We talked about India, its position on the Ukraine War and the US-Russia talks on ending the conflict

Here's what he told me

India once dreamed of dominating Asia

India's military would police the oceans from West Asia to Singapore

But that ambitious dream failed

Here's why🧵 In 1946, Jawaharlal Nehru was contemplating the role an independent India would play on the world stage

World War II had just ended and Britain's rule in India was coming to an end

Nehru's vision for India was grand

"India is the centre of security in Asia," he wrote

It's been a busy week for Indian diplomacy

- Donald Trump shakes up Indian politics

- S Jaishankar's major meeting with China

- Big US-Russia talks to end the Ukraine war

🧵on the top 5 stories for India this week👇 1⃣. Trump and USAID

Donald Trump has sparked a major controversy in Indian politics

For some time, questions have grown around a grant of $21 million given by the US govt for "voter turnout" in India

Trump hinted that the money was being used to interfere in Indian politics

America's deep state is interfering in Indian politics

That is the accusation made directly by India's BJP

But the real story is more complicated

🧵on the USAID controversy Here are the facts

Yesterday, America's Department of Govt Efficiency announced it would be cutting funding for a group known as the "Consortium for Elections and Political Process Strengthening"

This included stopping $21 million given for "boosting voter turnout" in India

Donald Trump is the world's most unpredictable leader

But India believes it knows how to handle Trump

🧵on India's Trump strategy Donald Trump can be a difficult leader to handle

But India has had a solid relationship with him for years

Under Trump, America became India's largest trade partner

Several billion dollar defence deals were signed

And the two nations worked closely on challenges like China