Naomi Slusser

Naomi Slusser (USA) is a New York City native, and is assigned as a Political Science Instructor at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. She holds a B.S. in English from the United States Naval Academy, and an MBA from the University of California – Los Angeles. As a career Naval Officer, she has […]

Jonathan Eli Libut

Jonathan Eli Libut (PH) is currently a PhD Researcher at the Institute of Political Science Louvain-Europe and the Centre for International Conflict and Crisis Studies of the University of Louvain. Prior to his doctoral research, Jonathan taught bachelor courses in Asian Studies and Political Science at the University of Santo Tomas, and International Studies at De […]

PacNet #29 – Toward a resilient supply chain to counter Chinese economic coercion

On Aug. 3, 2022, following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, Chinese customs suspended natural sand exports while blocking imports of citrus fruits, chilled white scallops, and frozen mackerel. Export bans are usually symbolic in Taiwan, as farming and fishery exports make up just a fraction of Taiwan’s economy. However, some of the […]

PacNet #28 – A principled approach to maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific

This article was originally published in ROLES Insights and can be found here. Maritime domain awareness (MDA) in the Indo-Pacific is moving from an abstract aspiration to a functional collective security approach for managing the region’s dynamic offshore spaces. To ensure that emerging initiatives like the Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA) have sealegs, […]

PacNet #27 – Why China’s Middle East diplomacy doesn’t herald a new world order

An earlier version of this article appeared in The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. March 10’s agreement to reestablish diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh was a no “peace deal,” but the rivals did decide to cool tensions and reopen embassies after a seven-year lapse. China’s role in facilitating the deal raised the most […]

PacNet #26 – The UK integrated review and integrated deterrence

The much-awaited release of Britain’s updated Integrated Review (IR2023)—a “refresh” since the 2021 iteration (IR2021)—has many in the Euro-Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific now trying to assess UK intent and capability in the region. The paper does go some way to addressing concerns that UK domestic politics would pull the ground from underneath “the Tilt” before […]

US-Japan Cyber Forum: Advancing Cyber Defense and Resilience in the Age of Strategic Competition

16 February, 2023 @ 12:00 am – About the Forum On February 16, 2023 (US), with support from the US Embassy Tokyo and in partnership with the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology Open Laboratory for Emergence Strategies (ROLES) at the University of Tokyo, the Pacific Forum hosted the first session of the US-Japan Cyber Forum: Advancing Cyber Defense and Resilience […]

PacNet #25 – Bangladesh’s remarkable journey and challenges ahead

A country’s nationalism lives through its shared vision from generation to generation. In the early post-colonial era, the early dreamers of Bangladesh shared a vision of independence, economic development, and an equal society. As it celebrates 52 years of independence on March 26, Bangladesh cherishes the same vision and has achieved remarkable successes. However, many […]

PacNet #24 – How to help Korea-Japan rapprochement endure

It is newsworthy on its own that conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol flew to Tokyo to meet with Prime Minister Kishida Fumio last week. Yoon’s predecessor, the progressive Moon Jae-in, demonstrated little interest official meetings with his Japanese counterparts across his five years as president, one of the few things he had in […]

PacNet #23 – Japan’s new strategic policy: Three overlooked takeaways

Japan has signaled its intent to strengthen its national security and defense posture significantly in an increasingly volatile Indo-Pacific. When he met President Joe Biden in January 2023, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, referring to Japan’s new National Security Strategy, declared he would “fundamentally reinforce our defense capabilities.” This includes raising the Japanese defense budget […]