- 6 weeks ago
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor has made a striking remark on Jammu and Kashmir, calling it an “important part of India” during his visit to Srinagar. But is this merely diplomatic language, or does it signal a subtle shift in Washington’s approach to Kashmir?
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00:08can one diplomatic visit change how the world reads a country's borders and can a war become
00:13so profitable that the world notices only when global trade is threatened today two stories
00:20reveal how power works in very different ways in the north america is sending a striking signal
00:25on kashmir and ladakh ambassador sergio gore calls jammu and kashmir an important part of india before
00:31traveling to a region china watches very closely is washington changing its language and in sudan
00:38a brutal war funded from outside turns hunger into a weapon while the red sea becomes the next
00:44strategic battleground one story is about diplomatic signals the other is about a war the world cannot
00:51afford to ignore so who is shaping the map and who is paying the price hello and welcome you're
00:58watching statecraft with me gita mohan we begin with some big news pakistan is now putting law behind
01:04one man's extraordinary military power prime minister sheba sharif's cabinet has approved the defense
01:10forces act 2026 along with amendments to the national command authority act 2010 the bills will now move
01:18to parliament for approval and at the center of this entire restructuring is field marshal asa munir the
01:25army chief of pakistan following pakistan's 27th constitutional amendment munir holds two powerful positions
01:32chief of army staff and chief of defense forces the new legislation is meant to turn that constitutional
01:39change into a detailed legal and administrative framework in simple terms pakistan is now building the
01:46machinery around munir's new top military post the chief of defense forces is positioned at the top
01:52of pakistan's tri-service command structure bringing the army the navy and air force under a common senior
01:59military framework but there's another major piece the cabinet has also approved amendments to the law
02:06governing the national command authority pakistan's strategic and nuclear command body that means the
02:12changes go beyond military administration they also touched the legal framework surrounding pakistan's
02:19most sensitive defense and nuclear decision-making structures the drafts still need parliamentary approval
02:24but politically the message is already clear pakistan is not merely creating a new military post it is
02:30building a new command architecture around assamini what happens when bombs fail to bring iran back to the
02:38table president trump reaches for something he calls even more crushing economic warfare trump has announced
02:44what he calls the most crushing economic operation ever against iran and this time the warning goes far beyond
02:50tehran he says any country bank business airport or government entity that gives iran a financial
02:58lifeline will face tremendous economic consequences and trump has named the targets oil smuggling cash
03:04transfers exchange houses ship registries and front companies in simple terms washington wants to shut
03:12every escape route iran uses to make money why now because the military campaign has struggled
03:18to force tehran back to negotiations so washington is shifting the battlefield from missiles to money but
03:25there is a problem iran has spent years learning how to dodge sanctions using shadow tankers and networks
03:31that keep its oil moving and then there is china china remains iran's biggest economic partner and a
03:37major buyer of its oil so if washington goes after countries trading with tehran this could quickly become
03:43a u.s china confrontation too and with trump jinping meeting coming up soon this could certainly spell
03:50trouble for u.s china relations iran has already called the policy economic terrorism and insists sanctions
03:57will not force surrender something has changed in the way washington is talking about kashmir and this
04:05time the signal is not coming from a think tank it is coming from none other than the u.s
04:09ambassador
04:10to india sergio gore standing in srinagar gore described jamun kashmir as an important part of india
04:16just hours later he traveled to ladakh one sensitive region then another and the sequence is difficult to
04:23ignore because this is not just a diplomatic visit it is a message being watched closely in islamabad
04:29and in beijing for years washington has carefully avoided taking india's or pakistan's side on the
04:35final political status of kashmir the familiar american position was simple india and pakistan
04:40should resolve the issue through dialogue last year donald trump even offered to mediate the so-called
04:46kashmir issue between the two countries which obviously was rejected by india but now an american
04:51ambassador has publicly used language that is much closer to new delhi's position so the question
04:57is obvious is washington changing its kashmir language and if it is what does that mean for
05:03pakistan gore's words triggered an immediate reaction for pakistan islamabad summoned the u.s charles
05:10affairs and protested arguing that the ambassador's comments contradicted the american position on kashmir
05:16but here is the important part washington has not formally announced a policy change there has been
05:22no presidential declaration from donald trump saying that the u.s has abandoned its previous formulation
05:28on kashmir so this is not yet a policy earthquake it is a diplomatic tremor though and there is a
05:34difference an ambassador can change the tone he can open doors he can send signals but a formal change
05:40in american policy would have to come from the white house or the president himself until then
05:46new delhi can welcome gore's words but it would be a mistake to treat one ambassador's remark as a
05:52complete u.s policy reset but look at the timing god did not simply make the remark from washington
05:58or new delhi he made it during his first visit to srinagar the first visit by a sitting u.s
06:05ambassador
06:05to jammu and kashmir in more than six years he met chief minister omar abdullah and discussed the
06:10future of u.s engagement with the union territory and then came the second move ladakh and this is
06:16where the story becomes much bigger than kashmir because ladakh is not just another tourist destination
06:22it sits along india's frontier with china and pakistan it is one of the most strategically
06:28sensitive regions in the world and gore is now the first u.s ambassador to visit ladakh his
06:34presence there so close to the line of actual control with china is unlikely to go unnoticed in
06:40beijing think about the message an american ambassador arrives in srinagar he describes jammu and kashmir
06:45as an important part of india then he travels north to ladakh an area where indian and chinese troops
06:51faced off in a deadly himalayan standoff this is diplomacy with geography the map itself becomes part of
06:59the message and beijing understands maps better than most ladakh was at the center of the india china
07:05military confrontation that erupted in 2020 that standoff saw the first deaths along the lac in 45
07:12years the united states responded by providing india with real-time intelligence winter equipment and
07:18stronger diplomatic support six years later indian china have pulled troops back from several confrontation
07:24points creating what can be described as a tactical fall but the distrust has not disappeared
07:31and that makes gore's ladakh visit particularly interesting because india and china are simultaneously trying
07:37to stabilize the relationship trade is moving border talks continue leader level engagement has resumed
07:44but the military distrust remains so where does washington fit into this equation perhaps the answer is alongside india
07:52but not necessarily against china that distinction matters the united states does not need to formally
07:58declare ladakh to be a flashpoint for its presence there to carry strategic weight a serving u.s ambassador
08:05visiting a region that beijing considers deeply sensitive can itself be read as a recognition of india's
08:12control and strategic importance there washington is looking north india's looking north china is looking west
08:19and central asia sits in the middle the old strategic map is changing pakistan remains china's all-weather
08:26friend and partner india's deepening ties and relationship with the united states of america and
08:32washington is trying to expand its economic and strategic footprint across central asia gore's journey
08:39through india's northern union territories fits neatly into that larger contest but there is an irony here india
08:45itself is trying to manage two tracks at the same time it is engaging china while remaining deeply suspicious
08:51of chinese military intentions it is rebuilding economic ties while keeping its strategic guard up
08:57and now an american ambassador has arrived in ladakh with beijing watching so is this a message to china
09:04possibly but it is not necessarily a threat it is a reminder a reminder that india's northern frontier is no
09:12longer viewed only through the india china lens washington is paying attention and the united states sees
09:18india's geography as strategically important in the wider contest for influence across asia and then
09:25there is pakistan for islamabad gaur's kashmir remark may be even more uncomfortable than his ladakh visit
09:31pakistan has spent decades trying to internationalize the kashmir issue it wants major powers to treat
09:37kashmir as a dispute requiring international attention and mediation but if american diplomatic
09:43language increasingly describes jammu and kashmir in terms closer to india's position pakistan's
09:50diplomatic space could narrow down but india should also keep its expectations realistic india does not
09:56need washington or anyone else to certify its position on jammu and kashmir new delhi does not require
10:02foreign endorsement of its own constitutional and territorial position the real test is not what
10:08sergio gore says in kashmir the real test is what washington says next because one ambassador's words
10:15can start a conversation only the white house can turn that conversation into policy this may not yet be
10:22an american policy reset but it certainly looks like a change in diplomatic tone and in geopolitics tone
10:28matters especially when it comes from a superpower especially when it comes from srinagar and especially
10:35when the next stop is ladakh so perhaps the biggest message from sergey gore's two-day journey is not
10:41that america has suddenly chosen sides on kashmir or declared a new strategy against china it is something
10:48much more subtle washington is becoming more comfortable being visible in india's most sensitive northern
10:54foreign territories and that changes the optics for pakistan it is a diplomatic warning kashmir may be
11:01becoming harder to internationalize on islamabad's terms for china it is a strategic signal that says
11:07ladakh is no longer a purely bilateral india china conversation you see diplomacy the most important messages
11:14are sometimes the ones that are never formally announced they're simply signaled and sergey gore has just sent one
11:22there is a country right now where children are dying of starvation on purpose not from drought
11:28not from bad luck on purpose as strategy as a weapon there is a capital city seven million people once
11:37a
11:37thriving hub of business and government that has been reduced to a graveyard literally human skulls are
11:43surfacing out of the dirt because there are too many bodies and not enough ground to hide them in
11:49and there is a war behind all of it that has already forced 14 million people from their homes more
11:55people than that live in new york city and los angeles combined and you've probably never heard a single
12:01detail about it that's not because it's small it's one of the deadliest wars on the planet right now
12:07it's because someone benefits from you not paying attention to it stick with me for the next few minutes
12:13because by the end of this you're going to understand exactly who's funding this war why it's about to
12:19spill into a crisis that touches the entire global economy and why the next few weeks might decide whether
12:25an entire nation survives or disappears into permanent chaos this is the war in sudan and it's time somebody
12:33actually told you the truth about it it's been more than three years now the war which started in april
12:402023 is deep into its fourth year with no end in sight here's the setup two generals general burhan of
12:48the sudanese armed forces or saf and general hamid t of the rapid support forces or as rsf ran sudan
12:57together after a military coup for a while it worked power sharing an uneasy peace then it didn't work
13:05anymore the alliance cracked and when it cracked it didn't lead to a resignation or election it led to an
13:11overnight war in the streets of the capital on one side the sudanese armed forces the official army
13:18the de facto government of the country on the other side the rapid support forces a militia built out of
13:24fighters with a documented history of genocidal violence in darfur rich well-armed and ambitious
13:31enough to think they could rule the entire country but both sides have smaller factions and allied
13:37militias fighting alongside them these aren't two armies lined up on a battlefield it's a fractured
13:44chaotic war with dozens of armed groups all fighting for a slice of what's left and what's the cost so
13:51far un says 14 million people have been driven from their homes that is not a refugee crisis that is
13:57the forced evacuation of an entire nation hundreds of thousands of people are dead killed in combat
14:04killed by deliberate famine starvation used as a weapon of war killed in massacres that human rights
14:10investigators have called genocidal the only conflict on the african continent this century that
14:16comes close is the war in congo back in the early 2000s a war that may have killed more than
14:23five
14:23million people sudan is being spoken about in the same breath and most people couldn't find it on a map
14:31here's the part that should make you angry this isn't just a civil war between two sudanese generals
14:36it's a proxy war funded from the outside fought with borrowed money and other people's weapons the
14:43rapid support forces militia is being fueled by cash weapons and mercenaries being flown in from the
14:49united arab emirates according to reports the ua denies it but officials and analysts on the ground
14:55don't buy the denial on the other side the sudanese army is being armed and bankrolled by a coalition
15:00reportedly of saudi arabia egypt qatar turkey each with their own reasons for wanting their side to
15:08win translation foreign governments are paying for sudanese blood one arms shipment at a time because
15:14sudan isn't just some empty stretch of desert it has gold it has farmland and it has one of the
15:21most
15:21strategically valuable coastlines on earth right on the red sea for most of this war that's exactly why
15:29nobody with real power stepped into to stop it too many outside players were benefiting from the chaos
15:36a weak divided sudan was useful to them so the war didn't drag on by accident it dragged on because
15:43for years it was profitable for people who will never set foot in khartoum never bury a body never go
15:49a day without food that is the ugly unglamorous truth sitting underneath every casualty count
15:57you might be asking why should i care this is happening thousands of miles away here's why wars
16:03like this one never stay inside their own borders they leak they spread they drag in everyone around
16:09them sudan's war has already helped reignite a civil war in south sudan a country that had barely
16:16stopped bleeding from its own conflict it's pouring gasoline onto the fire in yemen and it's rattling
16:22ethiopia a nation that could be the next domino to fall and now there's a new front that's impossible
16:29to ignore the red sea because of the wider explosion of conflict involving iran global attention has
16:35shifted from the strait of hormuz which has been effectively shut down toward the red sea now which
16:40may be the next iran-backed militias in yemen have already launched attacks on oil tankers tied to
16:46saudi arabia choking off shipping through one of the most critical maritime corridors on the planet
16:52sudan sits directly on that strategic coast and its internal collapse is finally smashing into the
16:58broader conflict in the gulf this collision is the sole reason why world powers are suddenly looking up
17:03it took a direct menace to the international trade routes not the emergence of mass graves or the
17:09weaponization of hunger to force a single glance in sudan's direction here's the part almost nobody's
17:15reporting right now there is a real and narrow opening for peace but it might not last two things
17:22just shifted first the chaos in the gulf has actually made outside powers reconsider their bets
17:28saudi arabia is waking up to how much it needs sudan's coastline secured especially with the red sea
17:35getting more dangerous by the week that could make continued backing for the militia far riskier
17:40costlier bet for its sponsors second the battlefield itself just shifted in the past few weeks the
17:48sudanese army made its biggest gains since retaking the capital it recaptured a critical highway linking
17:55khartoum to a key regional hub the militia had been fighting for for months it also retook a border town
18:02that had been a strategic prize for the first time in a long while the army isn't just fighting from
18:07desperation it's negotiating from a position of relative strength and there's a seasonal window
18:13too the rainy season is slowing combat down across the country creating a natural lull there's already
18:21proposed humanitarian truce on the table backed by american diplomats it has a real chance of actually
18:27holding precisely because the fighting has just quieted down enough to make a pause believable but here's
18:35the warning nobody wants to say out loud the longer this window stays open without anyone walking
18:40through it the more power drains away from the two main commanders and into the hands of dozens of
18:46smaller militias who have a financial interest in the war never ending which means every day of
18:52hesitation doesn't just prolong suffering it makes the eventual peace weaker messier and far less likely to
19:00hold if this window closes sudan doesn't just stay broken it fractures permanently there's already a grim
19:07nickname circulating for where this could be headed the somalia timeline decades not years of collapse
19:14no functioning central government power splintered among warlords and militias a failed state permanently
19:21unstable permanently armed sitting at the exact crossroads of africa west asia and one of the world's most
19:28important shipping lanes sudan is in some isolated corner of africa it's the third largest country on
19:34the continent a collapsed fragmented sudan becomes a permanent source of instability that bleeds into
19:41neighbors for a generation fueling more displacement more extremism more proxy wars fought on african soil
19:48with african lives funded by outsiders who will never pay the price themselves africa cannot afford another
19:56failed state the size not one that's deeply tied into global shipping routes not one bordering as many
20:03fragile neighbors as sudan does this is the moment not next year not after the next round of battlefield
20:11gains now while there's still a ceasefire worth fighting for instead of a country worth mourning peace
20:18doesn't happen on its own it takes pressure it takes outside bars choosing profit over principle to finally
20:24lose that bet it takes the rest of the world deciding that 14 million displaced human beings is a number
20:30too large to keep ignoring silence is a choice and every single day the rest of the world chooses to
20:36look
20:36away sudan pays the price in bodies in bread and futures that will never happen so the question isn't
20:44really whether sudan's war is forgotten the question is who decided it was okay to forget
20:51that's all in this edition of statecraft before i go from geopolitics to robots throwing punches the
20:56future is getting stranger by the minute at the 2026 world robot conference in beijing a man stepped
21:03into the ring and sparred with a humanoid robot boxer who won well watch closely we leave you with the
21:09the visuals goodbye and take care
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