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First NIAS-MCC Annual Forum on Maritime Geopolitics and International Security

The Coromandel Dialogue 2026

24 September 2026

First NIAS-MCC Annual Forum on Maritime Geopolitics and International Security
The Coromandel Dialogue 2026
Connecting Scholarship, Science, Security, and Statecraft

Organised by
Science, Technology and International Relations Programme,
National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru
&
Department of Political Science
Madras Christian College (MCC), Chennai

Date and Venue:
24-26 September 2026, Madras Christian College, Chennai

Programme

24 SEPTEMBER 2026, THURSDAY
 


0930-0945 hrs: Welcome, Introduction and Inaugural Address
Prof R Sridhar
Head, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, Chennai
&
Prof D Suba Chandran
Dean, School of Conflict & Security Studies, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru

0945-1115 hrs: Dr Chandran Devanesen Endowment Lecture and Inauguration of the Coromandel Dialogue
Oceans, Space and Technology: Navigating the New Geopolitics
Prof Shailesh Nayak
Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru
&
Former Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India

1115-1145 hrs: Tea

1145-1315 hrs: Emerging Scholars Panel-01
Contested Waters and Coercive Statecraft: 
The South China Dispute a Decade after the 2016 Arbitral Award
Ashik J Bonofer
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, Chennai

Shadow fleets as a maritime security challenge:
Sanctions evasion, environmental risks and an ineffective international response
Akshath Kaimal
National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru

Maritime Chokepoints and International Security:
The Crisis Building across the Straits of Hormuz, Red Sea and Malacca
Brighty Ann Sarah
National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru

Ocean Governance and Maritime Geopolitics:
High Seas Governance, Seabed Governance, Indigenous Inclusion
Lekshmi MK
National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru

Discussant
Shobana Karthikeyan
Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, Madras Christian College, Chennai

1315-1430 hrs: Lunch at Glass Room, International Guest House

1430-1600 hrs: Emerging Scholars Panel-02
Subnational Agency in India’s Maritime Geopolitics:
The Case of Tamil Nadu
Adarsh Vijay
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, Chennai

Thoothukudi as India’s Maritime Pivot:
Geostrategic Positioning in the East-West Sea Route
Kiran Raghul Raj S
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, Chennai

Security, Ecology and Gender:
A Feminist Political-Ecology Analysis of the Great Nicobar Project
Subirthana MS
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, Chennai

Small Island States and Maritime Geopolitics in the Indian Ocean Region:
The case of Maldives and Mauritius
Preetha Renganarayanan
National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru

Discussant
Vidya R
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, Chennai

1600-1615 hrs: Lunch

21615-1730 hrs: Special Lecture
Evolving Challenges in Asia-Pacific
Dr Sridhar Krishnaswami
Secretary and Governing Council Member, The Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Chennai

25 SEPTEMBER 2026, FRIDAY
0930-1100 hrs: Emerging Scholars Panel Discussion-03
Cyber and AI in Maritime Geopolitics
Sameer Patil
Observer Research Foundation, Mumbai

Soft Power in Maritime Geopolitics
Vaishali Raguvanshi
Assistant Professor, Banaras Hindu University

The Geopolitics of China and the Philippines in the contested waters of the South China Sea
Teshu Singh
Senior Fellow, Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), New Delhi

China and the Critical Maritime Infrastructure
Anand V
Assistant Professor, MAHE, Manipal

Discussant:
Adarsh Vijay
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, Chennai

1100-1130 hrs: Tea

1130-1230 hrs: Coromandel Research Network Round Table
Prof R Sridhar
Head, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College

Prof Utham Kumar Jamadhagni
Head, Department of Defence and Strategic Studies, Madras University

Air Marshal (retd) M Matheswaran
Founder-President, The Peninsula Foundation

Cmde RS Vasan and Mr MR Sivaraman
Chennai Centre for China Studies

Dr Emil Mathew
C-PRiMeS, Indian Maritime University, Chennai

1230-1330 hrs: Lunch at Glass Room, International Guest House

1330-1430 hrs: Coromandel Media Connect
Coromandel, Media and the Maritime Geopolitics
A Conversation with Dr Srinivasan Ramani & Mr Kalyanaraman M
The Hindu

1430-1530 hrs: Policy Conversation
Meeting the Challenge: How ready is India's maritime infrastructure?
Conversation with Dr Rajoo Balaji
Vice Chancellor, Indian Maritime University

1530-1600 hrs: Tea

1600-1730 hrs: Coromandel Cultural Connect
South Korea’s Soft Power (Poster Presentations)

The N-po Generation:
Youth, Changing values and South Korea’s global image
Glynnis Winona B
St Joseph's University, Bengaluru

Beyond the Bowl:
The Power of Korean Gastrodiplomacy
Delna Rajesh
Madras Christian College, Chennai

The Haenyeo’s Table:
How Jeju’s sea women became South Korea’s cultural ambassadors
Namrata L Ghanghatkar
Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences, Bengaluru

From Hallyu to Soft Power:
How K-Pop and Korean Drama Shaped South Korea’s Global Influence
Oviyasree B
Madras Christian College, Chennai

From Kkonminam to green flag:
The global appeal of South Korean masculinity in K-Dramas and K- Pop
Janet Philo Veena J
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Seoul, Samsung, and the Technological Soft Power of South Korea:
Cultural Diplomacy and Nation Branding in the Digital Age
Chiranjeev T
Madras Christian College, Chennai

The Global Reach of Pro-Natalist K-Dramas:
Demographic Nation-branding turned Cultural Soft Power
Jayasree Jayakumar
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Korean Cinema as a Tool of Soft Power:
A Growing Global Appeal
Advik Sunanda Mohan
SciencesPo Paris

Squid Game as a Cultural Force:
Reshaping Global Perceptions of South Korea’s Soft Power
Priyadarshini K
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Seoul to MCC Campus:
PapaDos Korean Café and the Everyday Practice of Gastrodiplomacy
Sreya K H
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Engines of Soft Power:
Automobiles as South Korea's Quiet Diplomats
Akash B K
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Kimichi to Tteokbokki:
From Survival to Global Trend Setting
Azahgu Dharani R
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Hallyu (the Korean Wave):
A Major Driving Force in popularizing the Korean Language
Mignas Umeirah A
Madras Christian College, Chennai

From kitchen to global influence:
K- food and the soft power of South Korea
Vidhya G
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Fashioning Soft Power:
BLACKPINK, Cultural Diplomacy, and the Construction of South Korea’s Global Influence
Irin Reji Thomas
Madras Christian College, Chennai

The Other Korean Wave:
Lotus Lantern Festival as a Medium of South Korea’s Cultural Diplomacy
Madhuritha D
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Powering AI:
South Korea’s high-bandwidth memory chip industry
Madhura Meenakshi Tanikella
Alliance University, Bengaluru

Hanbok meets modern fashion:
Reimagining Korean fashion heritage in a globalised world
Sreemaya Nair
University of Madras, Chennai

Titans of competitive video games:
How South Korea dominates the international eSports scene
Avaneesh S
Pondicherry University, Puducherry

From Shipyards to Statecraft:
Evaluating Seoul’s Industrial Soft Power
Achyuth A Nair
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Writing Korea to the World:
Korean Novels, memory, and cultural soft power
Yesasvi Koganti
Madras Christian College, Chennai

26 SEPTEMBER 2026, SATURDAY

0900-1100 hrs: Coromandel Students’ Forum-I
Undersea cables and India's maritime security:
Coastal concentration, detection blind spots, and the repair capacity deficit
Aleena Anoop
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Underwater Acoustic Habitat Degradation from Commercial Shipping:
Regulatory Gaps, Monitoring Deficits, and Transboundary Governance Challenges
Priyadarshini K
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Grey-Zone statecraft:
China's Coast Guard as an instrument of maritime enforcement in the South China Sea
Avaneesh S
Pondicherry University, Puducherry

Deep-Sea Mining: Environmental Challenges, Institutional Constraints & Future  Trajectories
Advik Sunanda Mohan
SciencesPo, Paris

India’s port connectivity:
The Geopolitical Significance of India’s Maritime Connectivity
Oviyasree B
Madras Christian College, Chennai

India’s Coastal Security Deficit:
Surveillance Shortfalls, Vulnerable Island Territories, and Exploited Sea Lanes
Priyanka Makhijani
Ramaiah University of Applied Science, Bengaluru

Discussant:
Pongaldwel M
Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, Chennai

1100-1115 hrs: Tea

1115-1315 hrs: Coromandel Students’ Forum-II
Andaman and Nicobar Islands:
New Delhi's counter to Chinese infrastructure in the Indian Ocean Region
Achyuth A Nair
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

The 2026 India-Japan Maritime Security Arrangement:
Assessing Substance, Drivers, and Limits
Madhuritha D
Madras Christian College, Chennai

The Role of Small Island States in Indian Ocean Maritime Governance:
Climate vulnerability, Security and Legal agency
Aparna A Nair
Madras Christian College, Chennai

India’s Deep-Sea Mining Strategy:
Navigating the Blue Economy, ISA and Maritime Governance
Sreya K H
Madras Christian College, Chennai

IMO's MASS Code:
AI integration in the maritime domain, Gaps in autonomous shipping regulation, and policy recommendations
Madhura Meenakshi Tanikella 
Alliance University, Bengaluru

The Sinking of Elsa 3 and Fire on Wan Hai 503:
Cargo Disasters on the West Coast
Mathew Alex
Madras Christian College, Chennai

Discussant
Shekin S
PhD Student, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, Chennai

1315-1330 hrs: Concluding Session
Prof D Suba Chandran
Dean, School of Conflict & Security Studies, National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru
&
Prof R Sridhar
Head, Department of Political Science, Madras Christian College, Chennai

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