On May 12, 2025 Security & Defence PLuS hosted the inaugural Indo-Pacific Security Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii, delivered through the unique university partnership of King’s College London, Arizona State University (ASU), and the University of New South Wales (UNSW).
The forum brought together leaders and experts to explore military deterrence, diplomatic strategies, emerging regional threats, and the critical role of partnerships in sustainable security.
Hosting the forum in Hawaii was significant given its unique geographic and strategic position, with Governor Josh Green, MD, emphasising the islands’ pivotal role in Indo-Pacific security and sharing his vision for Hawaii as a “gathering place for peaceful resolution of conflict.”
Opening the event, Dr Chris Howard, Chief Operating Officer at ASU, noted:
“Security today is not just about ships and tanks and jets and missiles. It’s about semiconductors and satellites, about cyber integrity and supply chain resilience. It’s about ideas… and it’s about alliances.”
Speakers across the board emphasised the worsening global security landscape, marked by rising tensions, rapid technological change, and intensifying great power competition, with particular attention on China’s growing assertiveness in the region.
Highlighting the urgency, in his opening fireside with Dr Ian Langford, Executive Director of Security & Defence PLuS, Lieutenant General Joshua Rudd, Deputy Commander, United States Indo-Pacific Command, said:
“Our greatest challenge is time, we have to go faster, we have to outpace our adversaries.”
The challenges were unpacked in detail during the panel on Emerging Threats in the Indo-Pacific. Colonel Carol Stauffer, Senior Intelligence Officer for United States Army Pacific, detailed the expansion of the PLA’s operational reach and increased readiness, while Professor David Kilcullen, pointed to a strategic shift:
“We’ve seen a shift in Chinese thinking from long-term national interest behaviour to short-term regime preservation behaviour.”
The forum highlighted key flashpoints such as Taiwan and South China Sea disputes. Rear Admiral Gary G. Montalvo, Director of Maritime Headquarters and Sustainment, United States Pacific Fleet, added:
“Our number one job is to deter — that’s not just deter till 2027 — but to deter beyond… because I don’t see a world where China stops being an adversary in 2027.”
Building on the threat assessment, the panel The Role of Military Deterrence in Regional Security explored deterrence as both a mindset and a course of action.
Sophia Gaston, UK Foreign Policy Lead, Australian Strategic Policy Institute and Visiting Research Fellow, King’s College London, asked:
“What does it take to mobilise our governments, our economics, our societies, our industrial base to get us from the complacency of peace time up to readiness for conflict because it’s actually in doing so that we are able to actively and effectively project the deterrence that will prevent the conflict from transpiring.”
Recognising that deterrence alone is insufficient, Lieutenant General Rudd summarised the necessary balance of “credible deterrence coupled with agile diplomacy.”
Colonel Aidan Shattock, Deputy Commander, Interoperability, 25th Infantry Division stressed: “we can’t shape the pathway forward with power alone,” advocating for “diplomacy backed by coordination, cooperation, credibility and legitimacy.”
Effective deterrence and diplomacy rely on strong partnerships. Early in the day, Lieutenant General Matthew McFarlane, Commander, United States Army I Corps, cited Admiral Samuel Paparo:
“Security in the Indo-Pacific depends on interoperability, trust and the shared resolve of like-minded nations.”
In the final panel of the day Building Partnerships for Sustainable Security, Lieutenant General James Glynn, Commander, United States Marine Forces Pacific, pointed out:
“No one nation, no one industry, no one of anything can handle the enormity of the challenges… Those that try often walk into peril faster than those that collaborate.”
Paul Tennant, Vice President of Engagement and International Government Relations at HII contrasted relationships: “Russia and China have clients. The U.S. has friends,” and noted, “Partnerships are a hell of a lot harder to sustain, still harder yet to build in contact.”
A theme that echoed throughout the day was the need for societal engagement and innovation in defence and security.
This was particularly evident in discussions around AUKUS, with Sophia Gaston urging the UK government to “reframe AUKUS as a prosperity initiative” rather than solely a defence partnership. Building on this, Matt Steinhelfer, AUKUS Senior Advisor, U.S. Department of State stressed that the AUKUS ambition must be about “breaking red tape, innovating systems, and finding new ways to do business,” with the aspiration to “make ITAR reform a footnote, and not the headline.”
Colonel Carol Stauffer reinforced the need to embed innovation culturally and institutionally, encouraging “a culture of innovation down and into the ranks.”
The day closed with a dinner event keynote by Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, Chief of the Australian Army. He encapsulated the day’s sentiment by affirming that “in this era, defence and security is a national endeavour,” demanding coordination across “all elements of state, economy and civil society.”
We extend our sincere thanks to all speakers and contributors from across the military, government, policy, industry, and academia for sharing their insights and expertise, and to our engaged audiences both in the room and online. The full event recording is available to view here, with chapter markers to help navigate key sessions