Defending the First Island Chain

Defending the First Island Chain
 
With speakers including (but not limited to):
 
Dr. Masashi Nishihara
President, Research Institute for Peace and Security
 
RADM Umio Otsuka, JMSDF
Director General, Command, Control and Intelligence
Maritime Staff Office
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force
 
Dr. Kyongsoo Lho
Professor, Graduate School of Public Administration
Seoul National University
 
Dr. Rory Medcalf
Director, International Security Program
Lowy Institute for International Policy
 

8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Willard InterContinental Hotel 
1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC

The Center for a New American Security will hold a public, on-the-record experts’ discussion on the future defense of the First Island Chain that spans the Asia-Pacific maritime. The event is the latest in a series that the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Asia-Pacific Security Program has organized on maritime security issues in the region.

At the heart of the long-term development of the Asia-Pacific security environment is the future defense of the Pacific Island chains, particularly the First Island Chain that seals off the Yellow, East and South China Seas from the Pacific Ocean and the gateway to the Indian Ocean. This discussion will consider the long-term capacity of maritime Asian states to defend against evolving challenges and potential threats, and the implications for U.S. policy in the region and with its allies. A focal point of discussion will include what to do about the region’s growing anti-access and area denial capabilities.

This conference will bring together a distinguished group of leading experts on strategy, military affairs, and the international security politics of the Asia-Pacific. Speakers and discussants include: The Honorable Robert O. Work, Chief Executive Officer, Center for a New American Security; Dr. Patrick Cronin, Senior Advisor and Senior Director of the CNAS Asia-Pacific Security Program; Dr. Ely Ratner, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director of the CNAS Asia-Pacific Security Program; Elbridge Colby, Fellow of the CNAS Asia-Pacific Security Program; Dr. Bernard “Bud” Cole, Professor of International History and the U.S. National War College; Paul Giarra, President, Global Strategies and Transformation; Dr. James Holmes, Professor of Strategy and the U.S. Naval War College; VADM Yoji Koda, JMSDF (Ret.), Former Commander of the Self-Defense Fleet, JMSDF; Dr. Kyongsoo Lho, Professor, Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University; Bryan McGrath, Managing Director, The FerryBridge Group, LLC; Dr. Rory Medcalf, Director, International Security Program, Lowy Institute for International Policy; Dr. Narushige Michishita, Director, Security and International Studies Program, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies; Dr. Masashi Nishihara, President, Research Institute for Peace and Security; Dr. Michael O’Hanlon, Director of Research for Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution; and RADM Umio Otsuka, JMSDF, Director General, Command Control and Intelligence, Maritime Staff Office, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

For more information, please contact:

Andrew Kwon - akwon@cnas.org