In Episode 9 of ‘The Long View’ podcast series, host Prof. Ashok K. Kantha, the Subhas Chandra Bose Chair Professor of International Relations at Chanakya University, is joined by military expert and a leading voice on China Lt Gen S L Narasimhan (Retd.) for a strategic deep dive into China’s military apparatus and its security implications for India. Titled “The PLA at 100: Purge, Power, the Taiwan Question and the India Front,” the episode examines the sweeping purges across the senior ranks of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Central Military Commission.
The conversation critically assesses whether these high-level corruption clean-ups expose structural fault lines in China’s military command and how they affect the PLA’s operational readiness ahead of its 2027 centenary targets. Moving to regional flashpoints, Lt. Gen. Narasimhan evaluates Beijing’s spectrum of military options regarding Taiwan—from grey-zone tactics to full-scale invasion—and what a cross-strait crisis would mean for New Delhi.
Finally, the discussion tackles India’s defence preparedness, exploring how New Delhi can leverage asymmetric deterrence in the maritime domain while confronting a multi-domain threat across land, sea, air, cyber, and space. With border deployments settling into “armed co-existence,” this episode offers crucial insights into the future of Sino-Indian deterrence.
Follow the links to watch the full episode.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/BMJ4Zc6k5eE?si=b8XjQj-hC3NNAfIW
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/300QAbAOjs51owqMyL13RT?si=c2f2ea2112fb4211
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/in/podcast/the-long-view/id6816081614