About this Event

Enhancing Deterrence and Resilience Toward Hybrid Threats in the Indo-Pacific

The combined impact of rapid technological innovation and increasing geostrategic competition is reshaping the security and stability of the Indo-Pacific. The confluence of such two factors has given rise to hybrid threats that involve the use of covert and overt activities involving military and non-military entities which cut across the physical and virtual domains. Because most threat actors exploit the ubiquity and the inherent vulnerabilities of digital technologies in launching hybrid threats, the conventional means of national defense and security fall short to address them.

To this end, Pacific Forum International, in partnership with Microsoft, is organizing a roundtable discussion to enhance the US and its allies and partners’ capabilities to counter the rapid emergence of hybrid threats in the Indo-Pacific. Featuring policymakers, experts, and practitioners, the roundtable discussion will catalyze novel ways of deterring hybrid threats while building resilience through the exchange of best practices and lessons learned and fostering greater public-private partnerships.

About the Speakers

Marcus Bartley Johns, Asia Regional Government Affairs Lead, Microsoft

Marcus is Asia Regional Director for Government Affairs and Public Policy for Microsoft. He works with Microsoft’s teams and the company’s stakeholders across the region to advance public policy and regulation for trusted, responsible and inclusive digital transformation. This encompasses a wide range of issues at the intersection of technology and society, including the responsible use of artificial intelligence; privacy and data protection; cybersecurity and critical infrastructure; skills and the future of work; and the digital transformation of industries like financial services.

Before joining Microsoft, Marcus worked for the World Bank on digital economy and trade projects with governments, based in Singapore and Geneva.  He also co-led teams that produced World Bank flagship reports on the digital economy in Southeast Asia, and on global trade and poverty. Marcus began his career as an Australian diplomat, with assignments in Geneva at the World Trade Organization and United Nations, and in Bangkok working on regional economic cooperation programs.

Lami Kim, Professor, Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies

Her research interests are nuclear, emerging technologies and international security, and security issues in East Asia. Her work has appeared in The Washington Quarterly, Global Governance, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, War on the Rocks, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the National Bureau of Asian Research, Routledge, the National Interest, and the Diplomat. She has also provided commentaries regarding Asian security affairs to media outlets, such as the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Time magazine, BBC, Al-Jazeera, LA Times, Center for a New American Security, and Carnegie Endowment of International Peace, among others.

Until recently, she served as an Associate Professor and Director of the Asian Studies Program in the Department of National Security and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College. Prior to that, she served as a research fellow at Harvard’s Belfer Center, the Wilson Center, Pacific Forum, and the Stimson Center; as a member of the Mid-career Nuclear Cadre, a Nuclear Scholar, a Security and Statecraft Fellow, and a US-Korea NextGen Scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; as a Visiting Scholar at the George Washington Institute for Korean Studies; as a Mansfield-Luce Asia Scholar; as a Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington; as a Visiting Fellow at Seoul National University; and also as a South Korean diplomat. She has taught at Harvard University, Boston College, and the University of Hong Kong. She holds a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a master’s degree from Harvard University.

Commodore Paul O’Grady, J5 Strategy Director U.S. Indo Pacific Command

Growing up in Victoria, Australia, Commodore Paul O’Grady joined the Royal Australian Navy in 1994 as a Surface Warfare Officer. His command appointments include Navy’s Recruit School, the Guided Missile Frigate HMAS Newcastle, the Australian Amphibious Task Group, and the RAN’s deployable Fleet Battle Staff.
Commodore O’Grady has held key appointments including Deputy Surface Force Commander and Deputy Chief of Staff, Navy Headquarters. During the COVID-19 pandemic he was the Deputy Commander of the Joint Task Force delivering support across all States and Territories, and subsequently as Chief of Staff to the three star led Defence Task Force.

Commodore O’Grady was appointed as Commodore Flotillas in Fleet Command from 2022- 24, functioning as the Royal Australian Navy’s deployable O7 level Maritime Component Commander. In that role he participated in a number of regional activities and combined multinational exercises, including senior leadership positions at RIMPAC 22 (CFMCC) and TALISMAN SABRE 23 and support to the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa.

Paul joined the INDOPACOM team in December 2024 and is accompanied by his wife Lynette, while their adult children and mischievous beagles remained in Australia. He is a graduate of the US Navy War College, the US Combined Force Maritime Component Commander, and the Australian Command and Staff Course. He holds Masters Degrees in Strategy and Policy, International Relations, and Maritime Studies, and is a terrible yet enthusiastic golfer.

Michael Yeh, Microsoft’s Corporate External and Legal Affairs, Microsoft

Mike Yeh is the Regional Vice President for Microsoft’s Corporate External and Legal Affairs (CELA) in Asia. He manages a team of more than 80 professionals who provide legal and government affairs support to Microsoft’s sales and business operations in the region. Yeh focuses on helping customers – both in the public and private sector – navigate novel legal, regulatory and policy issues at the intersection of technology and business.

He joined Microsoft in 2003 and previously led Microsoft’s CELA team in the Middle East and Africa based out of Dubai. Before that he was the Assistant General Counsel responsible for Microsoft’s Worldwide Public Sector and Industry team based out of Redmond, Washington. He has also worked in the Antitrust Group in Redmond and as the Director of Regulatory Affairs for Asia based out of Beijing. Yeh is skilled in a wide range of regulatory matters – from competition law to privacy and security across several jurisdictions.

Before joining Microsoft, Yeh represented clients in antitrust litigation matters and investigations by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice at Arnold & Porter in Washington D.C.
He has a law degree and a Master’s degree in Public Affairs from the University of Minnesota as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University.