On March 4, 2026, a U.S. warship torpedoed and sank the unarmed Iranian frigate IRIS Dena off the southern coast of Sri Lanka. The unlawful attack killed more than 80 Iranian sailors and injured more than 30, who were returning home after participating in the Indian Navy’s flagship biennial multilateral naval exercise, Exercise MILAN, and the International Naval Review in Visakhapatnam.

Sri Lankan authorities mobilized to rescue the sailors and ensure their safe passage. The sinking of the IRIS Dena by a torpedo attack is the first such incident since the Anti-Fascist World War (World War II) and represents a significant escalation of the New Cold War in Asia.

Ironically, the attack coincided with the 55th anniversary of the UN declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace – a proposal championed by Sri Lanka and Tanzania at the height of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Center of gravity

Asia is currently at the center of a new Cold War being imposed on the region by the United States. With the People’s Republic of China as its main engine, the center of gravity of the global economy has shifted toward Asia. Asia is home to approximately 60% of the world’s population. Between 2015 and 2025, the region contributed 70% of global economic growth. Much of this growth has been driven by production: over 57% of global manufacturing value added originates in Asia.

While industrial success has brought significant improvements in social indicators, it has also been uneven and has often failed to overcome marginalization. In 2022, Sri Lanka became the first Asian country to default on its sovereign debt in the 21st century; currently, Sri Lanka is in its seventeenth IMF program. According to the World Bank, nine Asian countries are over-indebted, and six are subject to IMF programs. Despite its economic weight, Asia remains dependent on the dollar and lacks regional alternatives to the Bretton Woods institutions.

Flood and Fury

Today, Western Asia has become the scene of one of the most acute humanitarian crises of the 21st century: the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, perpetrated by the State of Israel with the support of the United States and Europe. More than 70,000 Palestinians have lost their lives as a result of Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023. Life expectancy in Gaza has been cut almost in half, from 75 to 40 years.

The war against Gaza has become a regional conflict, intensified by the fall of the Ba’athist government in Syria and the rise of the US-backed government of Ahmed al-Sharaa. Israeli attacks have spread to southern Lebanon and, with US support, to Iran, in blatant violation of international law. The assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September 2024 and Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei in February 2026 marked significant escalations of imperialist aggression in the region. However, the resilience of the Iranian people underscores the desperation of imperialism, which struggles to achieve its political objectives despite the use of force.

The dilemma

Asia is entangled in a network of more than 270 U.S. military bases. These bases stretch from the Persian Gulf states in the west to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, encompassing a chain of bases along the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Guam, and the Marshall Islands in the east. These bases are complemented by a complex web of military alliances and agreements, such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (2017), AUKUS (2021), the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (2021), and the Trilateral Agreement between the U.S., Japan, and South Korea (2023).

This military architecture is part of the United States’ “denial strategy,” designed to encircle China and limit its development. The central contradiction of this strategy lies in the fact that the very countries hosting US bases and the partners in these agreements maintain a high degree of economic interdependence with China. Therefore, the US push toward militarization creates tensions rather than resolving them and diverts valuable resources into the pockets of military contractors instead of investing in education, health, infrastructure, and production. Peace and development in Asia require a strategy of regionalism and multilateralism, led by the people of the region.

The issue of “Generation Z”

Amidst the war in West Asia and militarization in East Asia, political and economic crises in South Asia have multiplied. The crisis of neoliberalism has led to uprisings that toppled governments in Sri Lanka (2022), Bangladesh (2024), and Nepal (2025). These uprisings have been attributed to the amorphous category of “Generation Z,” which conceals more than it reveals. Slogans about corruption, nepotism, and authoritarianism reveal a deep discontent, but they fail to identify the fundamental contradiction of imperialism and its economic structures.

In reality, South Asian countries are witnessing social unrest fueled by youth unemployment, rural and agrarian crises, climate change, and migration. The resulting social sparks present opportunities for either social transformation or imperialist co-optation. In Nepal and Bangladesh, these uprisings have led to a shift to the right. In Sri Lanka, the left finally came to political power but has been unable to advance an alternative economic agenda.

Hands off Asia!

It is in this context that the International People’s Assembly, with the support of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, is organizing the conference “Hands Off Asia! A People’s Call for Sovereignty and Solidarity” in Colombo on July 16, 17, and 18. The conference brings together movement leaders, academics, and diplomats from seventeen countries across the region for a dialogue on the urgent issues of the current situation.

The conference aims to: 1. Build a shared understanding of the imperialist attack on Asia; 2. Create a space where movements, parties, grassroots organizations, and thinkers can share their experiences of struggle and forge lasting working relationships; 3. Develop a common program of demands; 4. Deepen the political understanding of Asian organizations by linking everyday struggles to the broader panorama of imperial domination; and 5. Generate a more nuanced and cohesive understanding that can guide the next stage of united anti-imperialist work across the continent.

The peoples of Asia know the cost of imperialism and remember the many historical struggles and revolutions that have taken place across the region—from the Arab Revolt (1917–1918) and the Chinese Revolution (1949) to the Vietnam War of Resistance against the United States (1955–1975). That same struggle against imperialism is being waged today on many fronts, from Gaza to Colombo and Okinawa.

Hands off Asia!

This article was written by Globetrotter 

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