Since the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline failed to take off with India, and involved a participant reeling under US sanctions, TAPI was the only feasible option that could match the timeline of the Sino-Russian deal. Washington also hopes TAPI would decrease India’s reliance on Iranian gas while providing the much-needed energy security for New Delhi to act as challenge to Beijing’s supremacy in the region. India is a formidable beneficiary of the TAPI pipeline, with 14 bcm of natural gas arriving in the country every year, in addition to its other sources of gas import and production. While TAPI certainly has the potential of becoming a great strategic asset, doubts remain whether it would be a secure one. TAPI would go through a war-ravaged Afghanistan and a turbulent Pakistan while the Sino-Russian gas just has to brave the Siberian chill. Regional stability will be key to TAPI’s evolution from a pipeline into a strategic sword in the battle for regional supremacy. The Siberia – TAPI duel could result in geopolitical carnage. Is the ground-breaking of TAPI a landmark that signals a departure from history of scepticism into a future of cooperation? Or is it the latest front in Cold War 2.0?