Panelists & PARTICIPANTS

Gen. Eduardo Año is a Filipino public official and retired general of the Philippine Army who currently serves as the National Security Adviser under the administration of President Bongbong Marcos since 2023. He previously served as Secretary of the Interior and Local Government in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte from 2018 to 2022, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines from 2016 to 2017, and the Commanding General of the Philippine Army from 2015 to 2016.

Commodore Jay Tristan Tarriela is currently serving as the Chief of Coast Guard Staff for Human Resource Management (CG-1) and is also the Adviser to the Commandant on Maritime Security Affairs, as well as the Philippine Coast Guard Spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea. He successfully completed his Ph.D. at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS) under the GRIPS Global Governance (G-cube) Program in Tokyo as a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) ASEAN Public Policy Leadership scholar. He has participated in various military and coast guard training programs both in his home country and internationally. Dr. Tarriela holds a graduate degree from the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy Graduate School and a Master of Policy Studies from GRIPS and the Japan Coast Guard Academy. He was among the first batch of participants in the Maritime Safety and Security Program jointly launched by both institutions in 2016.Furthermore, Dr. Tarriela was selected as part of the inaugural cohort of the 2021 Pacific Forum US-Philippines’ Next Generation Leaders’ Initiative. Additionally, he has been chosen as a fellow for the 2021 East-West Center US-Philippines Alliance Fellowship in Washington, DC, USA. Dr. Tarriela has authored opinion-editorial articles for renowned publications such as The Diplomat, The National Interest, and Analyzing War. He also serves as a visiting lecturer at the National Defense College of the Philippines, the Philippine Public Safety College, Ateneo De Manila University School of Government, and the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy Graduate School.

Dr. Jeffrey Ordaniel is President and CEO of WPS Foundation, a Manila-based maritime security research and policy think tank. Concurrently, he is also Associate 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, U.S. 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. His current research on maritime security in Asia is funded by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), 2020-2025.

Captain (Ret.) Liu Xiaobo is a senior fellow and director of the Marine Study Center, Grandview Institution, Beijing, China. His research focuses on national maritime security policy, sea power, and the Law of the Sea. Before joining the Grandview Institution, Capt. Liu had served in the PLA Navy for 24 years and had worked as a research fellow in the National Institute for South China Sea Studies.

Dr. Lai Thai Binh is the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to the Philippines. He served as a Deputy Director-General of the East Sea (South China Sea) Institute (Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam), the Deputy Consul-General of Vietnam in Houston, Deputy Director-General and Assistant Director-General at Americas Department in the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Director of the American research division, Director and Deputy Director of the North America division, and as a Vietnam-U.S. relations desk officer. He earned a BA in international economics from Hanoi Foreign Trade University and a Ph.D. in International relations from the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

H.E. David Hartman is Ambassador of Canada to the Philippines

Ambassador Dr. Andreas Michael Pfaffernoschke is Ambassador of Germany to the Philippines

Dr. Aaron Jed Rabena is Professorial Lecturer at the Asian Center in the University of the Philippines Diliman. His areas of interests include Strategic Studies, Greater East Asian Geopolitics and Multilateral Politics, Political Risk, Maritime Security, and Chinese Politics and Foreign Policy.

Dr Abe Woo is a non-resident fellow for marine environmental research at WPS. He received his PhD in Natural History Sciences from Hokkaido University. His interest of study includes systematics, taxonomy, and diversity study of marine invertebrates, focusing on the group Echinoderms. Since 2009, he has been actively uncovering the marine biodiversity and systematics of sea cucumbers across the region. He is currently serving as a senior lecturer in the Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), Universiti Sains Malaysia where he is also actively leading several marine biodiversity research in the Southeast Asian region that includes several taxa of marine invertebrate. At the global front, he is a serving in several UN Decade of Ocean Science Program ECOP co-chairs and also an active contributor to the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) programmes.Dr Woo recently graduated from the Advanced Masters in Sustainable Blue Economy from Unviersity of Trieste, Italy that focuses on science diplomacy through management and development of regional blue economy plans. He is now involved in formulating Malaysia's Blue Economy Blueprint commissioned by the government

Ms. Declaro specializes in research and policy analysis in the areas of defense and security, enterprise technology, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure. She currently serves as a senior program and research associate at the Stratbase Institute, where she develops policy papers, prepares briefing materials and coordinates multistakeholder engagements involving the government, private sector and civil society. Ms. Declaro earned a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from De La Salle University-Manila, where she majored in European studies and minored in sports health. Graduating summa cum laude, she is also a member of the Rizal Honors Society.

Professor Anne-Marie Brady FRSNZ is a specialist on the Chinese Communist Party (domestic politics and foreign policy), polar politics, Pacific politics, and New Zealand foreign policy. She is founding and executive editor of The Polar Journal (Taylor and Francis Publishers). She has published ten books and over fifty sole-authored scholarly papers. She has written more than 60 opeds on her research for newspapers such as the New York Times, The Guardian, The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, The Financial Times, The Diplomat. In addition to her duties at the University of Canterbury, Professor Brady holds a number of honorary roles. She was a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington DC from 2014 to 2025. In 2014 she was appointed to a two-year term on the World Economic Forum's Global Action Council on the Arctic. She is an advisor to the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC).

Justice Antonio T. Carpio was sworn in as member of the Supreme Court of the Philippines on October 26, 2001. He served in the Supreme Court for 18 years, retiring on October 25, 2019 upon reaching the compulsory retirement age of 70. Justice Carpio retired with a zero backlog of cases. Justice Carpio obtained his law degree from the College of Law of the University of the Philippines where he graduated valedictorian and cum laude in 1975. He was conferred a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, by the Ateneo de Davao University in 2009, by the University of the Philippines in 2020, and by the Ateneo de Manila University in 2021. On October 29, 2011, as Guest Speaker at the 50th Founding Anniversary of the Ateneo de Davao College of Law, Justice Carpio launched his advocacy to challenge the validity of China’s nine-dashed line before a tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Ever since, he has been giving lectures all over the country on the invalidity of China’s nine-dashed line. In 2015, the Department of Foreign Affairs sponsored Justice Carpio on a world lecture tour on the West Philippine Sea dispute. Justice Carpio presented the Philippines’ perspective on the dispute before think-tanks and universities in 30 cities covering 17 countries. In May 2017, Justice Carpio published the book titled The South China Sea Dispute: Philippine Sovereign Rights and Jurisdiction in the West Philippine Sea.

Bill Hayton is an Associate Fellow with the Asia-Pacific programme at Chatham House and the editor of the academic journal 'Asian Affairs'. He is the author of four books on Asia including The South China Sea: the struggle for power in Asia and The Invention of China. Bill worked for the BBC for 22 years until January 2021. He was the BBC’s reporter in Vietnam in 2006-7 and was seconded to the public broadcaster in Myanmar in 2013-14. In 2019 he received his PhD from the University of Cambridge for work on the history and development of the South China Sea disputes. He is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

Director of the Center for Maritime Strategy Studies and Research Professor of the School of International Studies, Peking University; Director of the South China Sea Strategic Situation Probing Initiative (SCSPI). He got Ph.D. in International Relations and His areas of specialization include maritime strategy, international security, and the South China Sea issues.

Brad GLOSSERMAN is Senior Adviser at Pacific Forum, in Honolulu Hi, where he served for 13 years (2004-2017) as executive director. From 2017 until 2025, when it closed, he was Deputy Director of and Visiting Professor at the Center for Rule-making Strategies, Tama University. He was for 10 years a member of The Japan Times editorial board and writes a weekly column on geopolitics and technology. Brad is co-author, with Gil Rozman, of Japan’s Rise as a Regional and Global Power 2013-2023: A Momentous Decade (Routledge, 2024), author of Peak Japan: The End of Grand Ambitions (Georgetown UP, 2019) and co-author (with Scott Snyder) of The Japan-South Korea Identity Clash (Columbia UP 2015). His newest book, “Tech-gemony: Navigating the New National Security Economy” (with David Lee), which examines the geopolitics of high-technology, will be published this year by Hurst.

Carissa currently serves as a program and research associate at the Stratbase Institute, where she conducts policy research and analyzes sectoral trends in defense and security.Carissa has held key roles in institutions focused on governance, diplomacy and social development. As a project officer for a non-profit organization, she led flagship campaigns on women’s health and empowerment in collaboration with foreign embassies. During her internship focused on the public sector, she facilitated strategic planning workshops and supported the alignment of governance frameworks with national government agencies.Carissa earned a bachelor’s degree in diplomacy and international relations specializing in East and Southeast Asian studies from Ateneo de Manila University, graduating cum laude.

Mr Carl Baker is executive director at Pacific Forum. He works on issues related to foreign and security policy and is engaged in promoting security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. Current focus areas include multilateral security architecture, nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and nuclear security. Previously, he was on the faculty at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies and an adjunct professor at Hawaii Pacific University. Previously, he was on the faculty at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies and an adjunct professor at Hawaii Pacific University. A graduate of the U.S. Air War College, he also holds an M.A. in public administration from the University of Oklahoma and a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Iowa.

Chong Ja Ian is an associate professor of political science at the National University of Singapore, where he teaches and conducts research in international politics and security. Chong is a non-resident scholar at Carnegie China, Carnegie’s East Asia-based research center on contemporary China, where he examines U.S.-China dynamics in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific. He received his PhD from Princeton University in 2008. His research covers the intersection of international and domestic politics, with a focus on the externalities of major power competition, nationalism, regional order, security, contentious politics, coercive diplomacy, and state formation.He was a 2019-20 Harvard-Yenching Visiting Scholar, 2013 Taiwan Fellow, 2012-13 East-West Center Asia Fellow, and a 2008-9 Princeton-Harvard China and the World Fellow. Chong’s current research examines how non-leading state behavior collectively intensifies major power rivalries. He has concurrent projects investigating how states react to sanctions on third parties by trade partners, and the characteristics of foreign influence operations.Chong is the author of External Intervention and the Politics of State Formation: China, Indonesia, Thailand, 1893-1952 (Cambridge, 2012), and a recipient of the 2013 International Security Studies Section Book Award from the International Studies Association. He has published in the China Quarterly, European Journal of International Relations, International Security, Security Studies, and Pacific Affairs, among other outlets.

Collin Koh is senior fellow at the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies which is a constituent unit of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, based in Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He has research interests on naval affairs in the Indo-Pacific, focusing on Southeast Asia. Collin has published several op-eds, policy and academic journal articles, as well as chapters for edited volumes covering his research areas. He has also taught at Singapore Armed Forces professional military education and training courses. Besides research and teaching, Collin contributes his perspectives to various local and international media outlets and participates in activities with geopolitical risk consultancies.

Since he founded The Stratbase Group in 2004, Prof. Victor Andres "Dindo" Manhit has provided top-level strategic analysis and thought leadership on global issues in the Philippines.He is the President of Stratbase Institute, an independent, international think tank based in the Philippines. In the age of geopolitical uncertainties and technological advancements, Stratbase ADR Institute gives equal importance to the interdependent nature of states, sectors, and stakeholders for its strategic analyses and policy initiatives in a multi-polar world.As a public policy analyst and geo-strategist, he thinks beyond politics for his political risk assessment that is also data-driven. With his extensive experience in legislation and policy making including serving as Undersecretary of the Department of Education, Deputy Secretary of the Philippine Senate and being Chief of Staff of a Senate President, he continues to help Stratbase’s clients and partners understand the interplay between business and government and the impact of legislative, regulatory, and geo-politics on their strategic initiatives.Professor Manhit obtained his Master’s Degree in Public Administration and Bachelor’s Degree in Philippine Studies (Major in Political Science and History) from the University of the Philippines. A member of Phi Gamma Mu International Honors Society Beta Chapter.

Elina Noor is a senior fellow in the Asia Program at Carnegie where she focuses on developments in Southeast Asia, particularly the impact and implications of technology in reshaping power dynamics, governance, and nation-building in the region.Previously, Elina was director of political-security affairs and deputy director of the Washington, D.C. office at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Prior to that, Elina was an associate professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies in Honolulu. She spent most of her career at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia, where she last held the position of director, foreign policy and security studies. Elina was also formerly with the Brookings Institution’s Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World.Between 2017 and 2019, Elina was part of the Global Commission on the Stability of Cyberspace. From 2021 to 2023, she served on the International Committee of the Red Cross Global Advisory Board on digital threats during conflict. She currently serves on the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters.Elina read law at Oxford University. She obtained an LL.M (Public International Law) from the London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London, graduating with distinction at the top of her class. A recipient of the Perdana (Malaysian Prime Minister’s) Fellowship, she also holds an MA in security studies from Georgetown University, where she was a Women in International Security Scholar.

François-Xavier BONNET is a geographer, Research Associate at the Institute for Contemporary Southeast Asia (Irasec). As a UNESCO consultant, he has worked in Cambodia, among other places, on the production of geography textbooks. He lives in the Philippines and his research focuses on the geopolitics of the Philippines: Muslim terrorism and guerrilla warfare, the peace process in Mindanao on the one hand, and maritime disputes in the South China Sea and China's growing influence in the Philippines on the other. He has published, among others: “Geopolitics of Scarborough Shoal”, Les Notes de l’IRASEC n°14 - IRASEC’s Discussion Papers #14, 2012 https://irasec.com/Geopolitics-of-Scarborough-Shoal. This research will be updated in 2025. “Charting submarine routes in Southeast Asia”, Hérodote, n° 176, La Découverte, 1st Quarter 2020.

Georgi Engelbrecht joined International Crisis Group (crisisgroup.org for more information on our work) early 2020 and has since worked on a variety of issues related to the Mindanao peace process and conflict prevention in the South China Sea. Before that he was assigned with the International Monitoring Team (IMT) in Mindanao as European Union representative and Head of the Southcentral Mindanao office of Nonviolent Peaceforce in Maguindanao and Sarangani. He served as focal point for International Humanitarian Law in the IMT under five Heads of Mission with Major General rank. He is a German national and studied international relations/international law with a Master’s degree in International Law from the University of Turin, Italy and Diplomatic Studies from the University of Malta, and Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the School of International Studies, University of Dresden.

Gregory B. Poling directs the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he is also a senior fellow. He is a leading expert on the South China Sea disputes and conducts research on U.S. alliances and partnerships, democratization and governance in Southeast Asia, and maritime security across the Indo-Pacific. He is the author of the recently published On Dangerous Ground: America’s Century in the South China Sea, along with various works on U.S. relations with Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia at large. His writings have been featured in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, and the Naval War College Review, among others. Mr. Poling received an MA in International Affairs from American University and a BA in History and Philosophy from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Dr. Vu Hai Dang is an Expert at the Diplomatic Academy of Viet Nam. His area of expertise includes international law, law of the sea, and international environmental law with a geographical focus on Southeast Asia and the South China Sea. He has experience working in the fields of private practice, civil service, diplomacy, and academia.

Dr Ian Storey is Senior Fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore. He specializes in regional security issues with a focus on Southeast Asia’s relations with the major powers and maritime security, especially the South China Sea dispute. Since joining ISEAS in 2007 he has been the chief editor of the academic journal Contemporary Southeast Asia. Prior to ISEAS, Ian held academic positions at the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, Hawaii, and at Deakin University, Australia. Ian received his PhD from the City University of Hong Kong, his Masters degree from the International University of Japan and his BA (Hons) from the University of Hull, England. He is the author of Putin’s Russia and Southeast Asia: The Kremlin’s Pivot to Asia and the Impact of the Russia-Ukraine War (2025) and Southeast Asia and the Rise of China: The Search for Security (2011).

Jane CHAN is a Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the Maritime Security Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) in Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore. Her main research interests include maritime security issues in Southeast Asia, law and order at sea, regional maritime cooperation and confidence-building measures, and regional boundary delimitation and territorial disputes. She is an affiliated faculty at the Singapore Arm Forces (SAF)-NTU Academy (SNA).

Jeffrey Payne is an Assistant Professor at the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies. He pilots the Center’s maritime security programming, including its ongoing series devoted to the Indian Ocean Region and wider Indo-Pacific. In addition, he leads engagements on China’s interests throughout the NESA Center area of responsibility.Professor Payne conducts analysis on Chinese foreign policy, Indo-Pacific Regional affairs, and maritime security. He is particularly interested in the intersection of maritime security and strategic competition in the Indian Ocean, as well as in how technology and information can assist in furthering security cooperation. His work informs United States Combatant Commands, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and interagency efforts inside the United States government. Professor Payne takes part in United States government efforts relating to Maritime Domain Awareness and helps facilitate internal discussions across bureaucratic seams existing in the Indian Ocean. He has presented before international conclaves, security forums, and defense institutions in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia.

Jonathan Berkshire Miller is an internationally recognized expert in security, defence, and geo-economics, with a distinguished career advising governments, multinational corporations, and international organizations on geopolitical risk, strategic foresight, and global policy development. He has held a variety of positions in the private and public sector. Currently, he is co-founder and Principal of Pendulum Geopolitical advisory, a global consultancy based in Ottawa. He is also a senior fellow at the Ottawa-based Macdonald Laurier Institute. He is also concurrently a senior fellow with the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) and senior fellow on East Asia for the Tokyo-based Asian Forum Japan. Miller also is the Director and cofounder of the Council on International Policy. He also holds appointments as Canada’s ASEAN Regional Forum Expert and Eminent Person (EEP) and as a Responsible Leader for the BMW Foundation. Previously, he was an international affairs fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations, based in Tokyo. Other former appointments and roles include terms as a Distinguished Fellow with the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada, and Senior Fellow on East Asia for the EastWest Institute. Miller also held a fellowship on Japan with the Pacific Forum CSIS from 2013-16, and has held a number of other visiting fellowships on Asian security matters, including at JIIA and the National Institute of Defense Studies. In addition, Miller previously spent nearly a decade working on economic and security issues related to Asia with the Canadian federal government and worked both with the foreign ministry and the security community.

John F. Bradford is a Japan Foundation Indo-Pacific Partnerships Fellow, the Executive Director of the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS) and an adjunct senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). He has previously held research positions with the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in Jakarta and Tokyo. His research focuses on Asian security with special attention given to maritime issues and cooperative affairs. Before becoming a full-time community builder and researcher, he spent more than twenty-three years as a U.S. Navy officer. His naval service history included command of a ballistic missile defense-capable Aegis destroyer and assignment at the 7th Fleet Regional Cooperation Coordinator and Country Director for Japan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Policy). John holds a PhD from King's College London. As an Olmsted Scholar, he studied in the Department of Political Science at Gadjah Mada University in Indonesia and completed an MSc (Strategic Studies) from RSIS. He is also a graduate of Japan’s National Institute of Defence Studies and the US Naval War College and Cornell University. He is particularly proud of the training he received as a midshipman aboard the Royal Malaysian Navy ship KD Rahmat.

Katsuya "Kats" Yamamoto, retired as Rear Admiral from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), joined the Sasakawa Peace Foundation in 2023. Kats graduated from the Japan National Defense Academy and earned a Master of Policy Studies degree from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies. He studied as a military student at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center and at the PLA National Defense University. He was a surface warfare officer, serving onboard various destroyers including as the commanding officer, and served onshore as Chief of the International Policy Planning at the Joint Staff Office, Director of the National Security & Strategic Studies Office at the JMSDF Staff College and Director of Education at the National Institute for Defense Studies. Kats served abroad as Defense/Naval Attaché to China (2008 to 2011) and President of the Naval Attaché Corps in Beijing, and International Military Professor of the U.S. Naval War College (2016 to 2018). He is Board member of the Japan-America Society of Southern New England, and Visiting Fellow of the Philippine Public Safety College.

Linar Orbista is the Program and Research Manager for Defense and Security of the Stratbase Institute, where she specializes in monitoring and engaging in high-level discussions on geopolitical and geo-economic developments in the Philippines and the broader Indo-Pacific. Her work focuses on delivering strategic insights and fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration to address critical issues shaping the nation’s policy landscape. Linar earned her bachelor's degree in Diplomacy and International Relations with a Specialization in East and Southeast Asian Studies from the Ateneo de Manila University, where she graduated summa cum laude. Her academic research centered on China’s domestic and foreign policies, which continues to guide her analysis of regional security and international affairs.

Marites Dañguilan Vitug, a leading Filipino investigative journalist and author, is editor-at-large for Rappler. She was editor of Newsbreak magazine, a trailblazer in Philippine investigative journalism. She has written nine books, the latest of which is Unrequited Love: Duterte’s Embrace of China co-written with Camille Elemia. Before that, she wrote Rock Solid: How the Philippines Won its Maritime Case against China. It won the National Book Award and was translated into Vietnamese. Marites has a degree in A.B. Broadcast Communication from the University of the Philippines and a diploma in world politics from the London School of Economics. She was a Nieman fellow at Harvard University and a recipient of fellowships from the University of San Diego in California—the Pacific Leadership Fellow; the Rockefeller Foundation Writing Fellowship in Bellagio Center, Lago di Como, Italy; the International House in Tokyo—the Asia Leadership Fellow Program; the Australian National University, University of Kyoto and the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo.

Matteo Piasentini is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, UP Diliman, and a PhD candidate at the same institution. He is also a Nonresident Vasey Fellow at Pacific Forum. His academic work primarily explores the foreign and defense policies of the Philippines, minilateral security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, and the global arms trade.He has authored peer-reviewed publications on these themes and continues to contribute to the scholarly discourse on Indo-Pacific security dynamics. In parallel, he serves as a coordinator and analyst for the China and Indo-Pacific desk at Geopolitica, a leading Italian think tank, where he contributes policy briefs and analytical papers focusing on Italy’s strategic engagement with the Indo-Pacific.

Dr Rahman Yaacob is a Research Fellow at the Southeast Asia Program, Lowy Institute. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Korea Institute for Maritime Strategy (KIMS). His research focuses on Southeast Asian defence policy and relations with major powers.

Renato Cruz De Castro is a distinguished professor at the Department of International Studies, De La Salle University, Manila, and holds the Dr. Aurelio Calderon Chair in Philippines-American Relations. He is an adjunct faculty at the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP), where he handles the module International Security Studies. (ISS). He was a visiting fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS) of the Japanese Ministry of Defense in the summer of 2018. He was a visiting researcher at the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) from June to August 2017. From September to December 2016, he was based in the East-West Center in Washington D.C. as the U.S.-ASEAN Fulbright Initiative Researcher from the Philippines. He is an alumnus of the Daniel Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DIAPCSS) in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. In 2009, he became the U.S. State Department ASEAN Research Fellow from the Philippines and was based in the Political Science Department of Arizona State University.

Dr. Hall is the Executive Director of University of the Philippines Center for Integrative and Development Studies, UP's policy research unit. She is a Professor of Political Science at University of the Philippines Visayas and UP Scientist III, with an established research and publication portfolio on security, civil-military relations, and gender/rebel integration in the army. She earned her Masters and PhD from Northeastern University, USA on a Fulbright-Hayes scholarship. She is a member of the Executive Board of the Asian Political and International Studies Association; former President of the Philippine Political Science Association; current editor of International Science Perspectives; and current member of the Philippine Commission on Higher Education Technical Panel for Political Science.

Saya KIBA is an Associate Professor at Kobe City University of Foreign Studies and a member of the Expert Panel on Ministry of Defense Capacity Building, Japan. Her major fields of interest are Southeast Asian studies, civil-military relations, security sector governance, and defense cooperation. She has experience as a practitioner, working in the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines and the Embassy of Japan in Thailand. She serves as a reservist of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Forces. Her recent works include a co-edited book, Pathways for Irregular Forces in Southeast Asia: Mitigating Violence with Non-state Armed Groups (Routledge, 2022).

Sophie Wushuang Yi holds a PhD in Chinese studies (international relations) from King’s College London, where she specialised in Sino-US relations, military and strategic studies, and South China Sea geopolitics. She is currently a postdoctoral teaching fellow at Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, and a research fellow at the Marine Studies Center of the Grandview Institution. Sophie also has extensive professional experience, having served as an economist assistant at the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office in Beijing. She earned her bachelor’s degree in international politics and security studies from the University of Sheffield and pursued graduate studies in economics at SOAS, as well as China in comparative perspectives at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Atty. Teodoro Jose S. Matta, MNSA is the Executive Director of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff. A member of the Philippine Bar, he holds a Philosophy degree from the University of the Philippines, a Juris Doctor from San Sebastian College of Law, and a Master in National Security Administration degree from the National Defense College of the Philippines. Formerly the Provincial Legal Officer of Palawan, he brings extensive expertise in law, security, and policy-making to the implementation of the province’s Strategic Environmental Plan. Beyond his professional work, he is a passionate photographer of Palawan’s flora and fauna.

Dr Tricia Yeoh is Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Nottingham Malaysia’s School of Politics and International Relations. She is also Senior Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Senior Visiting Fellow at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore and Senior Adjunct Research Fellow at Monash University Malaysia. She was recently a 2024/25 Atlantic Council Millennium Leadership Fellow. She is former CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) Malaysia, where she served up to September 2024.She was a Southeast Research Group (SEAREG) Fellow 2020/21 and has won several awards including the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award for Monash University Malaysia, the Postgraduate Award Prize 2020/21 from the University of Nottingham and the Malaysia Australia Alumni Council Female Alumnus of the Year Award 2023. She writes and speaks widely on federalism, comparative politics and public policy in Malaysia. She has previously worked in the Chief Minister's Office of the Selangor State Government. Dr Yeoh holds a PhD in Political Science from the School of Politics, History and International Relations at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Her writings can be found at www.triciayeoh.com

Dr. Van T. Pham initiated the founding and manages the South China Sea Chronicle Initiative (SCSCI), the first non-profit, non-governmental research initiative in Vietnam that is dedicated to promoting a fact-based and multidimensional understanding of the South China Sea disputes. The SCSCI has been striving for innovation in Vietnam, including the first Vietnam-based study led by Pham since 2019 to utilise technology for systematically tracking and promoting transparency of activities at sea. Their efforts have been featured on various expert platforms, research publications and media worldwide. The SCSCI continues to advocate for maritime transparency, fact-based understanding and rules-based collaborative solutions.Dr. Pham holds a Ph.D in natural science from Technische Universität Braunschweig in Germany. She is the author or co-author of several book chapters and articles in major newspapers and professional forums, focusing on legal aspects and developments of the South China Sea disputes. Her interdisciplinary approach combines scientific thinking with legal analysis to contribute to understanding of important regional maritime issues.

Dr. Wondeuk Cho is currently an assistant professor of Department of Indo-Pacific Studies at the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security, Korea National Diplomac Academy. He is also a visiting professor at Yonsei University. His main research topics consist of international relations of the Indo-Pacific region-esp. Southeast Asia and South Asia including India. He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a M.A. degree from Texas A&M University. He has been teaching at GSIS and Underwood International College, Yonsei University since 2019 and was a lecturer at Carroll University in Wisconsin.

CHOE Wongi is a professor of Indo-Pacific Studies and serves as the Head of the Center for ASEAN–Indian Studies at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA).