About this Event
Operationalizing Readiness and Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is the defining theater of the 21st century. Weeks before the release of the U.S. National Defense Strategy, underscoring China’s growing military power and its implications for American security and prosperity, more than 600 leaders gathered for the Honolulu Defense Forum in January 2026.
The focus was on a single question: how to strengthen collective readiness and deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.
A central theme emerged throughout: the region faces unprecedented challenges characterized by China’s rapid military modernization, expansive gray-zone activities, and increasingly sophisticated hybrid warfare campaigns that blur the boundaries between peace and conflict.
Deterrence requires forward posture, distributed capabilities, and pre-positioned assets throughout the first and second island chain.
Additionally, economic power, resilient supply chains, and energy security are central pillars to national security and sustained deterrence.
About the Speaker
Kimberly Lehn is Senior Director of the Honolulu Defense Forum at the Pacific Forum. Kim is a national security professional with over 20 years of experience in the U.S. federal government and in the private sector.
She is the founder of Diamond Pacific Strategies, a strategic national security advisory firm in Hawaii, and a senior advisor at Beacon Global Strategies, a Washington, D.C.-based firm advising leading companies on national security issues.
She previously served in various management and analytic roles at the Central Intelligence Agency, National Security Council, and State Department and as a Professional Staff Member on the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. She is a regular contributor on Indo-Pacific security, defense, and technology issues.
🎟 Attendance options:
• Become a Honolulu International Forum member (includes access to future HIF events), or attend this event only:
https://pacforum.org/honolulu-international-forum/
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