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This edition of Statecraft covers major global developments, starting with the potential reshaping of India-UK relations under new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The broadcast examines Burnham's history of prioritising ties with India and his appointment of Kanishka Narayan as the minister for artificial intelligence.
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00:07One leader inherits a changing world order, another power is trying to change it by force.
00:13Tonight, two stories.
00:15In London, Andy Burnham enters 10 Downing Street with a chance to redefine Britain's relationship with India
00:21at a time when global alliances are being rewritten.
00:24Can he turn years of personal engagement into a genuine strategic partnership?
00:30Then, the other story.
00:32In the South China Sea, a Filipino sailor suffers a bloody head injury after an alleged baton attack by Chinese
00:39forces.
00:40Beijing calls it self-defense.
00:42Manila calls it aggression.
00:44Has China abandoned grey zone tactics and begun flexing hard power in contested waters?
00:50One story is about building partnerships.
00:52The other is about projecting power.
00:54One could reshape the future of India-UK ties.
00:57The other could redraw the security landscape of the Indo-Pacific.
01:02Learn welcome.
01:02You're watching Statecraft with me, Geeta Mohan.
01:05All this and more, but first up, the headlines.
01:08Prime Minister Andy Burnham appointed Indian origin MP Kanishka Narayan as Britain's first dedicated minister for artificial intelligence.
01:16Narayan, a Labour politician from Wales, was one of the faces who was retained from Starmer's cabinet.
01:22A desalination facility and power plants in Kuwait were severely damaged from fire after Iran struck the country's crucial facilities.
01:30Bahrain and Jordan also came under attack.
01:33U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled 50% tariffs on a wide range of imports from Canada.
01:37This is in response to what the U.S. administration called its discriminatory treatment of American-made cars, alcohol and
01:44dairy goods, threatening a new front in a global trade war.
01:48The new tariffs, set to take effect in 30 days, would also apply to dairy products, swimming pools, furniture, fishing
01:54rods, seeds, clothing and wigs, among other items.
02:00Amid crisis in West Asia, an incident has turned the focus towards the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
02:06Four Indians were killed and one was critically injured.
02:09An attack on the MV Golden Leo on the 19th of July as it departed Ukraine's southern port of Odessa.
02:16According to the Ukrainian Navy, Russia struck the Guinea-Bissau flagged vessel with three cruise missiles, which is carrying a
02:22crew from India and Syria.
02:24According to Ministry of External Affairs, there were 17 crew members on board the vessel Golden Leo, including five Indian
02:31nationals.
02:32Video showed smoke from the vessel off Odessa's coast.
02:36The MV Golden Leo is owned by Mumbai-based Ocean Grace Shipping Limited.
02:41India summoned Russian Charles de Fers in New Delhi, Vladimir Vladimirov, to convey an unequivocal condemnation of the attack that
02:49has killed 10 people so far aboard the merchant vessel.
02:53The ministry in its statement said Indian mission in Ukraine is closely monitoring the situation and making efforts to provide
03:01all possible assistance to those affected.
03:03The ministry further stated in its statement that India condemns such attacks and reiterates that targeting commercial shipping and endangering
03:11innocent civilian crew members
03:13or impending freedom of navigation and commerce is deplorable and should be avoided.
03:19Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones struck seven Russian vessels overnight in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov on Monday.
03:27The targets include three tankers and four dry cargo ships, bringing the total number of vessels struck in July to
03:34183.
03:36Recently, Indian seafarers have been targets of Iranian and U.S. attacks on board several vessels passing through the Strait
03:43of Hormuz as well.
03:45A day after President Donald Trump in a post on Truth Social said Iran has to pay many times over
03:51for killing an American soldier every time,
03:54Iran retaliated with attacks across the region as U.S. military struck for the 10th consecutive night.
04:00The statement comes after Iran struck U.S. military base in Jordan in which two U.S. servicemen lost their
04:06lives.
04:06Another U.S. serviceman was killed in Iraq.
04:09Amid the deaths of U.S. servicemen, a report by the New York Times has stirred a controversy.
04:16The report said that the Pentagon withheld dozens of U.S. military injuries in Iran war.
04:21Pentagon was quick to reject the report, stating that these were baseless and malicious accusations.
04:27In yet another tweet, Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesperson, said, and I quote,
04:32While nearly 100 service members were deemed to have some degree of injury since the 7th of July 2026, 96
04:39% have returned to duty.
04:43They're determined to get back in the fight.
04:46The vast majority of injuries experienced were minor concussions.
04:50Further updates will be posted on the defense casualty analysis system.
04:54In the latest footage released by the U.S. Central Command, jets took off and monochrome aerial video showed precision
05:02strikes against Iranian military targets,
05:04including command centers, air defense sites, and coastal surveillance facilities.
05:09The latest strikes on Iran lasted about five hours.
05:13The aim of the strikes was an attempt to degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking commercial vessels flowing through the
05:20Strait of Hormuz.
05:21Meanwhile, the IRGC said its naval forces had delivered heavy blows to U.S. assets and facilities in Bahrain and
05:29Kuwait through three rounds of missile and drone attacks.
05:32The IRGC said it destroyed drone maintenance and repair hangers used by U.S. units at Al-Sakhir Air Base
05:40in Bahrain in the first round of the strikes.
05:42In the second round, the U.S. silos housing Task Force 59 vessels at Salman Port in Bahrain were targeted
05:50and destroyed.
05:51Bahrain, however, claimed that it intercepted and destroyed several incoming Iranian missiles.
05:59Jordan, too, said it had neutralized five incoming drones from Iran.
06:04Britain has a new prime minister yet again, but for India, this is far more than a change of face
06:09at 10 Downing Street.
06:11Andy Burnham is not a political outsider discovering India for the first time.
06:15He has spent years building ties with Indian leaders, businesses and the diaspora.
06:21The question now is simple.
06:23Will Burnham merely continue Keir Starmer's India policy or could he take the partnership to an entirely new level?
06:29Andy Burnham is not inheriting a blank slate.
06:33He is inheriting a Britain searching for growth in a post-Brexit world.
06:37Europe is no longer enough.
06:38The United States is increasingly unpredictable.
06:41China is becoming more difficult.
06:43That leaves one obvious partner, India.
06:46The world's fastest growing major economy, a technology powerhouse, a manufacturing hub and a country Britain simply cannot afford to
06:55ignore.
06:55This is where Burnham stands apart.
06:58Unlike many leaders in Westminster, he didn't discover India after becoming prime minister.
07:03He discovered India's importance years ago.
07:06As mayor of Greater Manchester, he repeatedly called India a priority partner, not for photo opportunities, not for diplomatic symbolism,
07:15but because he believed Britain's future prosperity depended on building long-term partnerships with fast-growing economies like India.
07:25Burnham spoke the language India wanted to hear, not aid, not dependency, partnership.
07:30He argued that India should not be treated merely as a market for British exports.
07:36Instead, he pushed for collaboration in technology, software, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, scientific research and innovation.
07:45In many ways, his thinking mirrors India's own ambition to move up the global value chain, not remain the world's
07:52back office.
07:53And Burnham arrives at precisely the right moment.
07:56Days before taking office, the India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement came into force.
08:03More than 90% of Indian exports to Britain will now face zero tariffs.
08:08Billions of pounds and trade are expected.
08:10The deal is done.
08:12The speeches are over.
08:13Delivery begins now.
08:15But trade is only one part of the story.
08:18The bigger opportunity lies elsewhere.
08:20Artificial intelligence, clean energy, defence, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, digital infrastructure, universities, healthcare.
08:30These are the sectors that will define the next decade.
08:33And they also happen to be the sectors Burnham has championed for years.
08:38That makes this far more than diplomatic opportunity.
08:41It creates the possibility of genuine strategic alignment.
08:46Burnham has even appointed Indian origin Kanishka Narayan as Minister for Artificial Intelligence,
08:52making the position a cabinet-level role for the first time.
08:56There's another reason India should pay close attention.
08:59Burnham understands something Westminster has often ignored.
09:03Britain is bigger than London.
09:05During his time in Manchester, he pushed for direct aid links with India.
09:10He backed stronger educational ties.
09:12He welcomed India's first-ever consulate general dedicated to Northern England.
09:17He saw the Indian diaspora not simply as voters, but as an economic bridge connecting two countries.
09:25That matters because modern diplomacy is no longer conducted only between capitals.
09:31It happens between cities, universities, businesses, and innovators.
09:36Burnham spent years building exactly those networks.
09:40Indian diplomats have publicly credited him with strengthening economic and cultural ties with Greater Manchester.
09:46That gives him something many new leaders lack.
09:50Institutional memory.
09:51And personal relationships.
09:54Of course, not everything will be smooth sailing.
09:56He takes office at a time when global conflicts are reshaping alliances.
10:01Ukraine remains Britain's top priority.
10:04Europe demands attention.
10:05NATO faces fresh challenges.
10:08His foreign policy bandwidth will be stretched.
10:11Yet none of that changes one basic reality.
10:14Every British Prime Minister today faces the same economic equation.
10:18Growth is harder to find.
10:20Investment is fiercely contested.
10:22Supply chains are shifting.
10:24And India sits at the centre of almost every major global economic calculation.
10:29That makes stronger India ties, less of a diplomatic choice, and more of an economic imperative.
10:36This is why Andy Burnham's rise matters.
10:38Not because he is expected to reinvent Britain's India policy.
10:42But because he may be the first British Prime Minister in years who genuinely understands
10:47why India matters beyond trade statistics and state visits.
10:51He has already built the relationships.
10:54He already knows the opportunities.
10:57Now, he has the power to act.
11:00Britain has changed another Prime Minister.
11:02That alone is no longer news.
11:04The real story is whether this leadership change marks Britain's final acceptance of a changing world order.
11:11A world where India's rise is no longer a prediction.
11:14It is a fact.
11:16Andy Burnham now has a chance to turn that reality into policy.
11:20If he succeeds, this won't just strengthen India-UK ties.
11:24It could redefine them.
11:26Washington is making a decisive move in South Asia.
11:30Donald Trump's trusted envoy to South and Central Asia, Ambassador Sergio Gore,
11:35is heading to Bangladesh as Dhaka deepens ties with China.
11:39Sheikh Hasina plans a dramatic return.
11:41And regional rivalries intensify.
11:44Is this simply diplomacy or America's attempt to reshape Bangladesh's strategic future before it's too late?
11:51Here's a report by Shaurik Shaha.
12:02The United States is sending one of President Donald Trump's closest confidants to Bangladesh
12:08at a politically sensitive moment.
12:11Sergio Gore, the US Special Envoy for South and Central Asia and America's Ambassador to India,
12:17is expected to visit Dhaka later this month.
12:19The visit comes just five months after the Tariq Rahman government assumed office
12:24and amid growing geopolitical competition in South Asia.
12:28According to reports,
12:30Gore will hold high-level meetings with Prime Minister Tariq Rahman,
12:34Foreign Minister Khalilur Rahman
12:35and leaders of several major political parties.
12:39The discussions are expected to focus on regional security,
12:43Bangladesh's foreign policy and its strategic direction.
12:47The timing of the visit has drawn particular attention.
12:50Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina recently announced
12:53that she intends to return to Bangladesh before the end of the year,
12:57despite facing a death sentence in absentia.
13:00Reports suggest her possible return and the future of the Avami League
13:04could also feature in discussions during Gore's visit.
13:08The United States is also facing increasing pressure
13:11over Bangladesh's human rights situation.
13:14Several American lawmakers and rights groups have raised concerns
13:18about the trial of Sheikh Hasina
13:19and the broader political environment in the country.
13:22This has viewed speculation that Washington
13:25may be reassessing its approach toward Bangladesh.
13:29Another major issue is Bangladesh's rapidly expanding ties with China.
13:33Prime Minister Tariq Rahman recently visited Beijing,
13:36where he sought Chinese investment in major infrastructure projects,
13:40including the Tista project,
13:43the modernization of Mongla port
13:45and special economic zone in Chittagong.
13:48Dhaka has also proposed deeper defense cooperation with China
13:52and is reportedly considering major military purchases,
13:56including fighter aircraft.
13:58For Washington, these developments are strategically significant.
14:01The United States is also expected to seek clarity
14:05on China's proposed Bangladesh-Myanmar-China economic corridor,
14:09a project that could reshape regional connectivity and influence.
14:15Bangladesh's growing engagement with China, Pakistan and Turkey
14:19has also attracted close attention from both Washington and New Delhi.
14:24Bangladesh has also stepped up engagement with Turkey in recent months.
14:28Turkish Foreign Minister Haqqan Fidan visited Dhaka
14:32as both countries explored closer diplomatic and strategic cooperation.
14:38The growing ties with Turkey alongside Bangladesh's outreach to China
14:42and other regional powers are expected to be closely watched by Washington
14:46during Sergey Gaur's visit.
14:49Against this backdrop,
14:51Sergey Gaur's visit is expected to be more than a routine diplomatic engagement.
14:55It will be an opportunity for the United States
14:58to assess Bangladesh's political trajectory,
15:01reaffirm its strategic interests
15:03and signal how Washington intends to engage with the Tariq Rahman government
15:07in an increasingly competitive Indo-Pacific region.
15:11With Sharik Shaha, Bureau Report, India to the Global.
15:16Did China just upped the ante in the South China Sea?
15:20A Chinese soldier reportedly attacked and injured a Filipino sailor
15:24with a baton, giving the sailor a head injury.
15:27Beijing says Manila started it.
15:30Manila says China crossed the line.
15:33Washington calls China's action dangerous and aggressive.
15:36So how far does China think it can shove before someone shoves back?
15:41Has Beijing ditched the old playbook of quiet intimidation
15:45and gone full playground bully?
15:47Because that's what this looks like.
15:49Push, threaten, escalate, repeat.
15:53The only problem with acting like the biggest kid in the playground
15:56is that one day somebody swings back.
15:59Let's start with what actually happened.
16:02On 20th of July,
16:04a Philippine boat was resupplying the BRP Sierra Madre,
16:08the grounded warship Manila uses as its outpost.
16:12Manila says a Chinese boat circled,
16:15took photos, turned physical,
16:17and someone swung a wooden baton
16:20and cracked a sailor's head open.
16:22Beijing says its boat gave warnings.
16:25Filipino boats rammed at first
16:27and crew struck with paddles and poles.
16:31Both sides released videos.
16:33Both called the other a liar.
16:34The one thing nobody disputes,
16:37a sailor is nursing a real head injury.
16:40Why does Beijing want this water badly enough
16:42to fight over a sandbar?
16:44The South China Sea is China's trade lifeline.
16:48Huge chunk of its imports and exports sail through it.
16:51So controlling it is like owning the only highway
16:54to your own house.
16:56Underneath sit fish, oil, and gas,
17:00feeding over a billion people.
17:01And its military gold?
17:03Room for the Navy to operate and leverage
17:05over any future Taiwan standoff.
17:08China says history gives its rights
17:10over most of the South China Sea
17:12through its sweeping nine-dash line claim.
17:15The Philippines challenged that
17:17at an international tribunal under UNCLOS.
17:20And in 2016, the court ruled
17:22that key parts of China's claim
17:24had no legal basis.
17:26Beijing rejected the verdict.
17:28It did not even attend the hearing.
17:29And the dispute never really left the water.
17:33Earlier, the pressure came through warnings,
17:36patrols, and shadowing ships.
17:38Now, the headlines involve alleged ramming,
17:41batons, injuries, and close-range confrontations.
17:44That matters because physical force
17:47send a different message.
17:48It tells the other side that Beijing wants
17:51to make every Philippine mission
17:53more costly, more dangerous, and more uncertain.
17:56A warning can be ignored.
17:58A sailor with stitches cannot.
18:01Is Washington being tested too?
18:04Check the timing.
18:05The clash landed just as Secretary of State
18:07Marco Rubio touched down in Manila
18:09for the ASEAN summit.
18:11Within minutes, the State Department
18:12branded China's actions dangerous and aggressive.
18:15It does seem like the perfect time
18:17for China to create trouble
18:19in the disputed waters
18:20as Washington's attention seems
18:22to be on the U.S.-Iran war.
18:25Rubio warned that if these waters
18:27fell under a power willing to use trade
18:29as a weapon,
18:30the U.S. and its allies
18:31would face serious new threats.
18:33Translation, Washington's promise
18:35to back Manila is exactly
18:37what's being poked at.
18:38And that promise is not just political.
18:41It is backed by the 1951
18:44Mutual Defense Treaty.
18:46The pact commits both countries
18:48to help defend each other
18:49if either comes under attack.
18:52Later agreements strengthened
18:53military cooperation
18:54making America's security commitment
18:56to Manila far more than just words.
18:59Has Beijing genuinely ramped up
19:01or is this one bad day
19:03blown out of proportion?
19:04The numbers say ramped up.
19:06Data from January to June 2026
19:09shows Chinese Coast Guard patrols
19:12near Scarborough's shore
19:13hit 933 ship days in six months,
19:17almost matching all of 2025's total
19:20of 1,099 itself double the year before.
19:24Monthly patrols jumped from 90 to 156,
19:28peaking at 216 in May.
19:30A ring of Coast Guard ships
19:32now covers every approach,
19:34backed by a standing squad
19:36of militia boats
19:37and a research station
19:38that showed up uninvited.
19:41Zoom out and the strategy
19:42writes itself.
19:43China isn't sending warships
19:45to grab these reefs.
19:47It's sending Coast Guard boats
19:48and research platforms instead
19:51so it can claim
19:52nothing military is really happening.
19:54No permanent buildings,
19:56no reclaimed land officially,
19:58just boats,
19:59buoys and temporary structures
20:01that keep showing up
20:02and forget to leave on schedule.
20:04It's controlled by inches
20:05dressed up as paperwork.
20:07Pair that with warships test
20:09firing near Japan the same week
20:11and the message is bigger than one shoal.
20:14Beijing is testing limits
20:16everywhere at once.
20:18It suggests Beijing wants
20:20to tighten control step by step
20:21without crossing the biggest red lines.
20:24More patrols,
20:25more physical presence,
20:26more pressure,
20:27new civilian-looking activities,
20:30constant challenges
20:31to Philippines operations.
20:33Every small action
20:35creates a new normal.
20:37Yesterday's exception
20:38quietly becomes today's routine.
20:40So if nobody pushes back,
20:43what happens next?
20:44The answer is simple.
20:46The next boundary
20:47becomes easier to cross.
20:49More patrols become normal.
20:51More confrontations become expected.
20:53More control becomes accepted.
20:56Beijing keeps testing limits
20:58until someone finally says enough.
21:01Because in the South China Sea,
21:03the biggest battle
21:03no longer revolves around
21:05who owns a reef.
21:06It revolves around
21:08who decides
21:09where the next line gets drawn.
21:12That's all in this edition
21:13of Statecraft.
21:14Before we go,
21:15India's national capital
21:16turned into a fortress
21:17as the youth-led protests
21:18defied police restrictions
21:20and marched toward parliament
21:22and outside
21:23the prime minister's residence.
21:25Tear gas,
21:26heavy barricades
21:27and a massive police deployment
21:29followed
21:29as the protests
21:30spilled onto the streets.
21:32The demonstrations
21:33also grabbed
21:34international headlines
21:35turning a domestic protest
21:37into a global story.
21:39Gen Z understands
21:40the power of symbols.
21:41Even a Gandhi lookalike
21:42transformed the march
21:44into something cameras
21:45simply couldn't ignore.
21:47Sometimes,
21:48the strongest political message
21:49isn't a slogan.
21:50It's an image
21:51that travels the world
21:52in seconds.
21:53Take a look at the visuals
21:55and the international coverage
21:56so far.
21:57Goodbye and take care.
21:59Goodbye and take care.
22:29Goodbye and take care.
22:33Goodbye and a bien pour ça.
22:33Goodbye and take care.
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