Jeffrey Ordaniel is non-resident Adjunct Fellow and Director of Maritime Programs at the Pacific Forum. Concurrently, he is also Assistant Professor of International Security Studies at Tokyo International University (TIU) in Japan. He holds a Ph.D. in International Relations and specializes in the study of offshore territorial and maritime entitlement disputes in Asia. His teaching and research revolve around maritime security and ocean governance, ASEAN regionalism, and broadly, US alliances and engagements in the Indo-Pacific. From 2016 to 2019, he was based in Honolulu and was the holder of the endowed Admiral Joe Vasey Fellowship at the Pacific Forum.

Since 2019, Dr. Ordaniel has been convening the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Expert Working Group, an informal network of select experts and scholars from Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia and North America, with the aim of generating sound, pragmatic and actionable policy prescriptions for the region. His current research on maritime security in Asia is funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2020-2022. He is author of the forthcoming Routledge book, Coping with ‘China Threat’⁠—The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia in the South China Sea.

John Frederick Bradford is Senior Fellow in the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University. Mr Bradford holds a Master of Science in Strategic Studies from RSIS and Bachelor of Arts (Magna Cum Laude in Asian Studies) from Cornell University. He retired from the U.S. Navy with the rank of Commander. His U.S. Navy assignments included service as the Deputy Director of the 7th Fleet Maritime Headquarters, as Country Director for Japan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense-Policy, and as Commanding Officer of a ballistic missile defense-capable Aegis destroyer forward deployed to Japan. His research interests focus on Indo-Pacific maritime issues and security cooperation. His work can be found in publications such as Contemporary Southeast Asia, Asia Policy, Asian Security, Asian Survey, Naval War College Review, and Naval Institute Proceedings.   He has also written book chapters, online articles, and monographs published by leading international think tanks.