Washington: Ashley J Tellis, certainly one of Washington’s most recognised international coverage analysts and a longtime adviser on India-US relations, has been arrested in the US on fees associated to the illegal retention of nationwide protection info and alleged conferences with Chinese language officers. The case has drawn consideration in strategic and diplomatic circles due to his involvement in shaping US coverage towards India for over twenty years.
In keeping with prosecutors, Tellis appeared in courtroom on Tuesday and can face a detention listening to on October 21. “We’re absolutely focussed on defending the American individuals from all threats, international and home. The costs as alleged on this case symbolize a grave threat to the protection and safety of our residents,” stated US District Legal professional for Japanese Virginia Lindsey Halligan, who was appointed by President Donald Trump.
Ashley J. Tellis, 64, is a naturalised US citizen who was born in India. Over time, he has turn into probably the most revered students of India-US relations, with experience in protection, worldwide safety and Asian strategic affairs. He has suggested successive US administrations on India coverage and performed an necessary function in constructing strategic cooperation between the 2 international locations.
Tellis serves because the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow on the Carnegie Endowment for Worldwide Peace. As per the suppose tank’s web site, he holds bachelor’s and grasp’s levels in economics from the College of Mumbai, in addition to a grasp’s diploma and a PhD in political science from the College of Chicago.
He beforehand labored on the Nationwide Safety Council beneath former President George W. Bush and served as a commissioned officer within the US International Service. He was additionally a senior adviser to the US ambassador on the embassy in New Delhi. He’s credited for his function in serving to negotiate the 2008 civil nuclear deal between India and the US, a landmark second in bilateral ties.
On the time of his arrest, Tellis was serving as an unpaid senior adviser for the US Division of State and as a contractor for the Pentagon’s Workplace of Internet Evaluation, an inside suppose tank that stories on to the Secretary of Protection. Each positions required him to carry safety clearances that allowed entry to labeled authorities materials.
What The US Authorities Alleges
In keeping with an affidavit filed within the Japanese District Court docket of Virginia, Tellis allegedly retained labeled supplies with out authorisation. Surveillance footage from a Division of Protection facility reportedly confirmed him utilizing a pc and asking a co-worker to print paperwork for him on September 12. One other recording from October 10 appeared to point out him leaving the identical constructing with paperwork that prosecutors say had been labeled.
The affidavit additionally says that on September 25, he accessed the US State Division’s inside labeled community, often called ClassNet, for about an hour. Later that night time, he returned and opened a 1,000-page doc allegedly belonging to the US Air Power. He’s alleged to have printed and renamed sections of it earlier than taking them away in his briefcase.
Federal authorities searched his residence in Vienna, Virginia and his car on October 11. Prosecutors stated they discovered labeled supplies in his possession.
Alleged Conferences With Chinese language Officers
The affidavit submitted in courtroom additionally claims that Tellis met Chinese language officers a number of occasions over the previous three years. One of many alleged conferences reportedly passed off in September 2022 at a restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia, the place Tellis was seen carrying a manila envelope that was not with him when he left two hours later.
One other assembly allegedly passed off in April 2023, when he and Chinese language officers had been “sometimes overheard speaking about Iranian-Chinese language relations and rising applied sciences, together with synthetic intelligence”. The doc additionally refers to related conferences in March 2024 and September 2025, throughout which Tellis allegedly mentioned subjects comparable to US-Pakistan relations.
Throughout the latest assembly, the affidavit says, the Chinese language officers handed him a purple present bag.
Attainable Penalties
Tellis has been charged beneath Part 793 of Title 18 of the US Code, which offers with the unauthorised gathering, transmission or lack of nationwide protection info. If convicted, he might resist 10 years in jail and a effective of as much as $250,000.
The US Legal professional’s Workplace for Japanese Virginia stated that precise sentences for federal crimes are usually decrease than the statutory most.
What Tellis Wrote About India, China And US
Tellis is understood for his tutorial work on South and East Asian geopolitics. His most up-to-date paper, printed by the Carnegie Endowment final week, is titled ‘Multipolar Goals, Bipolar Realities: India’s Nice Energy Future’.
“Whereas India has certainly grown in power during the last twenty years and has partnered with the US in pushing again on Chinese language assertiveness, the bigger story is extra complicated. For all of its achievements, India will not be rising quick sufficient to stability China successfully,” he wrote.
He additionally wrote that India stays “obsessed” with preserving its strategic autonomy, usually avoiding a agency alignment with Washington. “The obvious alternative is the US,” he concluded, suggesting that New Delhi would finally want a long-term exterior associate to stability Beijing’s rising energy.
The Wider Diplomatic Backdrop
The arrest comes at a time when US-India relations are navigating delicate transitions. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump share a publicly heat rapport, their governments have confronted new friction this yr over commerce and vitality points.
Earlier this yr, the US imposed a 25 p.c tariff on Indian items as a part of its broader commerce battle with a number of international locations. The speed doubled to 50 p.c in August, with Washington citing India’s continued purchases of oil from Russia. New Delhi has not altered its vitality coverage regardless of the stress.
In the meantime, India’s diplomatic engagement with China has improved after a number of years of rigidity. The 2 sides have held a number of high-level conferences, together with PM Modi’s go to to China this August and Chinese language International Minister Wang Yi’s journey to New Delhi earlier within the yr. PM Modi described these talks as marked by “regular progress” and “respect for one another’s pursuits”.
India has additionally cautiously expanded engagement with the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. Taliban International Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi lately visited New Delhi, the primary such go to for the reason that group took energy in 2021.
An Ongoing Investigation
For now, the case in opposition to Ashley Tellis stays within the early levels. The US authorities has not commented on whether or not it suspects espionage or mishandling of labeled info. He has not issued a public assertion.
As soon as recognized for shaping America’s understanding of India, Tellis now faces a authorized course of that would redefine his profession and legacy. His subsequent courtroom listening to is scheduled for October 21 within the Japanese District of Virginia.