NSC represented at the US Indo-Pacific Command's Military Law and Operations conference

NSC Senior Policy Advisor David Andrews recently attended the US Indo-Pacific Command's (USINDOPACOM) Military Law and Operations (MILOPS) conference, held from 27-30 August in Manila, as an expert contributor. The conference included representatives from 29 nations and was attended by an array of senior defence and government officials from across the region, including the Philippines' Secretary of National Defence The Honourable Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr., Commander USINDOPACOM Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, and a wide array of diplomatic Heads of Mission including Australia's Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu.

David spoke as part of a panel discussing potential strategic futures for the Indo-Pacific: both pivot points that could shape the future of the region and possible responses. His presentation addressed the potential for, and consequences of, alliance retrenchment and abandonment under a future US government; the wider consequences of the resolution of South China Sea maritime claims on non-favourable terms to ASEAN states; and the risk posed to regional security by the US's difficultly in addressing competing priorities in Asia along with evolving conflicts in the Red Sea, Israel and Gaza, and Ukraine. David subsequently highlighted the greater incidence of, and integration between, alliances and security partnerships in the Indo-Pacific; the need to rebuild state industrial and administrative capacity, including the defence industrial base, to enable greater national sovereignty and resilience; and efforts to build greater economic resilience and diversification.