Advanced analysis of military strategy, operational art, hybrid warfare, emerging domains, and historical conflict studies shaping modern warfare theory and practice.
How does a nation of 10.3 million command such sway over a superpower? Maj Gen (Dr) S B Asthana decodes the four pillars of Israel’s influence in Washington, from organised advocacy and Christian Zionism to strategic utility, and the cracks now appearing in the American consensus.
From the Red Sea to the Strait of Hormuz, West Asia exposes the limits of airpower, fragile defence pacts and military coercion without a viable end state. Major General Dr S B Asthana examines Saudi–Houthi escalation, the Mecca Pact, Iran's geographical leverage and the implications for India's energy and maritime security.
Can the Russia–India–China triangle help stabilise a turbulent world after BRICS 2026 in Trump 2.0 Era? Major General (Dr) S B Asthana examines the strategic opportunities, structural contradictions and implications for India's strategic autonomy in an era of Cold War 2.0.
The US–Iran confrontation is not merely a contest between two militaries. It is a contest between conventional military superiority and asymmetric strategic resilience.
The United States has enormous advantages in airpower, naval power, intelligence, surveillance, precision strike and global military reach. Iran, however, brings a very different set of strategic variables to the contest—geography, depth, dispersed capabilities, missiles and drones, asymmetric warfare, regional networks and, critically, the ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz.
This raises a fundamental question: Does overwhelming military superiority automatically translate into strategic victory?
In this episode of TAMS 292, Major General Dr S B Asthana discusses the US–Iran confrontation and examines why the proposition of simply "defeating Iran" may be considerably more complicated than the balance of conventional military power suggests.
The discussion also connects with several themes developed in Asthana Writes, including the limits of military power, the importance of political end-states, asymmetric warfare and the strategic significance of Hormuz.
The idea of a US-China “G2” has resurfaced with renewed force as Washington and Beijing attempt to manage an increasingly complex relationship marked simultaneously by rivalry, economic interdependence and strategic competition.
But can two powers really co-manage a world that is increasingly multipolar, economically interconnected and technologically diffused?
In this exclusive FPRC Journal 67 (ISSN 2277 – 2464) , Major General Dr S B Asthana, SM, VSM, PhD (Veteran), examines the structural viability of the G2 concept, President Donald Trump’s evolving China policy, the strategic calculations behind the Trump-Xi engagement, and the implications for India.
The interview argues that the world is not moving towards a clean bipolar order. Instead, it is witnessing what can better be described as “adversarial coexistence under conditions of mutual dependence.”
For India, both US-China accommodation and confrontation carry risks. The answer, therefore, is neither alignment nor passive neutrality, but strategic autonomy backed by economic resilience, technological self-reliance, diversified partnerships and flexible diplomacy.
The interview also examines whether the Indo-Pacific is developing a “G-Minus-Two” architecture and concludes that the emerging reality is better understood as a lattice of overlapping mini-laterals rather than a coherent third bloc.
Xi Jinping is playing a long strategic game while Washington is increasingly consumed by crises elsewhere. From China's expanding footprint at Antelope Reef in the Paracels to the sweeping purge of senior PLA commanders, Xi's consolidation of personal power is reshaping China's strategic posture. Meanwhile, America's attention is divided among Iran, tariffs, Venezuela, Greenland and domestic political pressures.
The coming Trump–Xi encounter may generate headlines, deals and diplomatic warmth—but beneath the summit theatre, the structural competition remains. The real question is no longer whether China is rising, but whether a distracted America can sustain the attention required to manage that rise. This subject has been analysed by me since last decade, with articles published in global journals since 2022, till as late as 2026 in Modern Diplomacy (EU) on 27 August 2026. Links are attached below the article/Analysis.
