Hemant Adlakha
Given the geopolitical climate, no one is surprised to hear about the arrest of Chinese students, scientists, and other academics in the United States on charges of spying or smuggling out scientific information and biological materials. Such stories are all too common.
But the news that Ashley Tellis, an Indian-born foreign policy strategist and a leading expert on U.S. and South Asian affairs, has been arrested sent shockwaves in policymaking in Washington, New Delhi and beyond. Well-known as a key figure in promoting an India-U.S. “alliance” to counter a rising China, scholars and analysts in China found it extraordinary that Tellis is now seemingly being accused of, among other things, spying for China.
Tellis has been charged with the unlawful retention of national defense information, the U.S. Justice Department said on October 14. He was arrested over the weekend after more than a thousand pages of documents with “top secret” or “secret” classifications were allegedly found at his home.
According to an affidavit from an FBI agent, Tellis had allegedly “met with government officials of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on multiple occasions over the past several years,” dating at least back to 2022. Tellis has not yet officially been charged for spying for China, perhaps due to lack of sufficient evidence, but the inclusion of his meetings with PRC officials in the affidavit has raised eyebrows.
Tellis has denied the charges. In a statement, his lawyers said they would be “vigorously contesting the allegations brought against him, specifically any insinuation of his operating on behalf of a foreign adversary.”
Who Is Ashley J. Tellis?
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