US nationals’ cases raise fresh security concerns in South Asia
Recent incidents involving US and Ukrainian nationals in India, Nepal and Bangladesh have raised concerns over cross-border security, alleged military links, drone deliveries and possible extremist networks. Experts have called for stronger intelligence sharing, tighter border controls and transparent investigations
New Delhi: The reported detention of a California resident — claiming to have earlier served the US Navy — while attempting to cross into Nepal this month without travel documents comes four months since the arrest of an alleged American trainer in military warfare and six Ukrainian nationals point out the vulnerability and uncharted agendas in this part of the world.
In another unconnected incident, the mysterious death of Terrence Arvelle Jackson, a serving officer of the US Army’s elite 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne), in a Dhaka five-star hotel on August 31 last year triggered waves of speculative reports.
According to a report in Bangladesh’s Weekly Blitz last September, authorities in Dhaka had initially suggested his death being due to natural causes.
But “the secrecy surrounding the removal of his body, the confiscation of his belongings by US Embassy officials, and his covert activities in the country suggest a far deeper and more troubling narrative,” it stressed.
Incidentally, some media reports pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit at that time, raising questions over a foreign operative’s presence in the region and the subsequent silence in Dhaka and Washington.
Jackson was described as a military trainer, supervising army exercises at Bangladesh’s Saint Martin’s Island in the Bay of Bengal.
Washington was said to have an interest in the island as a base to keep an eye on trade with Myanmar, India, China, and the Strait of Malacca from this region.
The Weekly Blitz report had quoted sources that “Jackson made frequent trips to Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet, and Lalmonirhat — districts known for their proximity to militant corridors and cross-border trafficking routes”.
One of the several possible questions it raised was if he had been “tracking Islamist movements within Bangladesh and their links to Myanmar’s Arakan Army”.
The incidents may be isolated and apparently without connection yet, but still remain unexplained in the prevailing air of uncertainty and volatility. These are warning lights for South Asia’s security where the nations need to urgently tighten vetting, intelligence-sharing, and on‑ground border controls while insisting on transparent investigations, say experts.
The incidents highlight possible cross-border networks involving professional help from servicemen.
In the recent incident, the US national was identified as Jordan Brown, who was detained by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) near Sonauli in Uttar Pradesh while attempting to cross into Nepal without travel documents. He claimed prior US Navy/Special Forces service.
Authorities recovered cash, phones and other items and said investigations were ongoing, reports added.
However, he could not produce any document to corroborate his claim.
In the March incident, India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) apprehended US citizen Matthew Aaron VanDyke, an alleged trainer in military warfare, and six Ukrainian nationals at airports in Kolkata, Delhi, and Lucknow.
VanDyke reportedly gained prominence during the Libyan Civil War in 2011, where he fought alongside rebels and was later imprisoned.
Following that, he founded Sons of Liberty International (SOLI), an organisation that reportedly provides military training and strategic advice to armed groups in conflict zones worldwide.
The episodes together raise cautionary flags with reports suggesting connections with ethnic armed groups and terror forces, import of hardware like drones, and arms smuggling, raising security concerns.
Investigators claim VanDyke and the Ukrainians used India as a transit route to Myanmar in 2025 and 2026, delivering drones and training ethnic armed groups.
Seized devices contained photos and videos of drone training sessions, reports added.
A further cause for worry comes from an NDTV interview last month, where Israel’s Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, alleged that Hamas-linked activity is taking place in Pakistan and Bangladesh, raising concerns about the spread of extremist influence beyond the Middle East.
