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Gwadar as a Transit Port: A Vision Not Yet Matched by Reality
Pakistan is proposing Gwadar Port as a transit hub for landlocked Tajikistan, nearly a decade after the port received its first container ships in 2016. In its best recorded year across that period, Gwadar handled 22 ships. Nine Years and a Ceiling of 22 Ships When CPEC was announced and Gwadar was positioned as its…
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The Sovereign Shadow: National Security Coercion, Temporal Fragmentation, and the Administrative Human Rights Battle of Kagusthan Ariaratnam
This article examines the landmark administrative and human rights battle of Kagusthan Ariaratnam against the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), analyzing the structural tensions between domestic national security practices and international refugee protection obligations. It addresses two fundamental questions: first, whether security agencies can leverage the legal vulnerability of refugee status to extract prolonged, coerced…
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Professor Rohan Gunaratna: Terrorism Expert? Or Intellectual Mercenary?
This article examines the commercialization of post-September 11 terrorism studies through a critical evaluation of Rohan Gunaratna’s career, framing it as a primary case study of “information speculation” and epistemic opportunism. It maps how Gunaratna systematically pivoted his threat assessments—ranging from hyper-inflated global Al-Qaeda networks for Western defense establishments to regional “octopus-like” Jemaah Islamiyah cells…
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From Integration to Elimination: The PLA’s Absorption and Dissolution of the Tibetan Military
China’s dismantling of Tibet’s military marked one of the clearest signs that its promises of autonomy under the 1951 Seventeen-Point Agreement were never intended to be honoured. The Seventeen-Point Agreement publicly framed Tibet’s annexation and integration into the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a “peaceful” and “mutually beneficial” arrangement. But this narrative was a…
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Child Soldier to Double Agent: The Untold Story of Kagusthan Ariaratnam Spy Tiger: The 05 File
In this powerful interview, former child soldier Kagusthan Ariaratnam shares his extraordinary journey from being forcibly recruited into the Tamil Tigers during the Sri Lankan Civil War to becoming an intelligence operative and global peace advocate. Kagusthan’s memoir Spy Tiger: The 05 File reveals the hidden realities of war, espionage, survival, and the psychological toll…
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Arctic Sovereignty and the New Cold Front: Strategic Modernization and the Sino-Russian Challenge
The geopolitical equilibrium of the High North is undergoing a fundamental and irreversible transformation. For decades, the Arctic was characterized by “Arctic exceptionalism,” a shared understanding among circumpolar nations that the region should remain a zone of low tension and high cooperation, primarily governed through the consensus-based Arctic Council.5 However, the dual pressures of accelerated…
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Geopolitical Alignment or Strategic Autonomy: Sri Lanka’s Defense Posture and the 2026 Indian Ocean Crisis
The decision by the administration of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake to deny the United States military access to the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport in March 2026 represents a critical inflection point in the maritime security of the Indian Ocean Region. While the Colombo government maintains that this refusal was a calculated act of “strict neutrality”…
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A Formal Disclosure and Challenge to the Professional Integrity of Professor Rohan Gunaratna: The “05” File and the Mechanics of State Deception
This open letter, authored by Kagusthan Ariaratnam (also known as Murali and code-named “05”), serves as a formal whistleblowing disclosure and a demand for historical rectification regarding his decades-long exploitation by internationally acclaimed counter-terrorism expert Dr. Rohan Gunaratna. Ariaratnam asserts that Gunaratna utilized his unique insider knowledge as a former LTTE Naval Intelligence Officer to…
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The Geopolitical Transformation of Asymmetric Naval Warfare: From the Sri Lankan Littoral to a Grand Strategy for the Strait of Hormuz
The modern maritime security environment has undergone a fundamental shift from blue-water fleet engagements to highly complex asymmetric confrontations in the littorals. This evolution is best exemplified by the conflict between the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Sea Tigers, a non-state actor that pioneered the use of suicide…
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SADF Podcast Alert: “A Tale of Child Soldier: In Discussion with the Authors of ‘Spy Tiger 05 File’
Join us for an eye-opening episode as we delve into the harrowing yet inspiring journey of Kagusthan Ariaratnam aka Murali, a former child soldier of the LTTE. In these podcast, our host Natasha Fernando discusses with Kagusthan Ariaratnam and Michael Bramadat-Willcock, the authors of ‘Spy Tiger 05 File’ the untold stories of resilience, survival, and…