Why has the US arrested Indian-American analyst Ashley Tellis?

Ashley Tellis, a United States government adviser and expert on India-US relations, has been arrested and charged with unlawfully retaining national defence information and allegedly meeting Chinese officials, US prosecutors said.

Tellis made his initial court appearance on Tuesday. A detention hearing is scheduled for October 21, US media reported.

Tellis, 64, is a naturalised US citizen who was born in India. He is a well-known academic who has written and commented extensively on India-US relations. He specialises in international security, defence and Asian strategic issues. He has worked with and advised the US government on relations with India for more than two decades.

The US-based think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace lists Tellis as its Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow. According to its website, Tellis has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of Mumbai in India, as well as a PhD and master’s degree in political science from the University of Chicago in the US.

According to an affidavit filed in the Eastern District Court of Virginia, Tellis is currently working as an unpaid senior adviser for the US Department of State. He is also a contractor at the Office of Net Assessment (ONA) within the Department of Defense (DoD), now renamed as the Department of War (DoW). The ONA is an internal think tank within the Pentagon.