Synopsis:

The 2022 National Security Strategy identifies the People’s Republic of China as “the only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it.” What is the nature of the threat China poses, and how is the United States adapting to meet it? To address these questions, The Debrief draws on the expertise of Kathleen Walsh, Associate Professor of National Security Affairs and Director of the Asia Pacific Studies Group at the U.S. Naval War College, and Brian Chao, Assistant Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College and associate of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for the Study of Contemporary China.

About the Speakers:

Kathleen (Kate) Walsh is associate professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College where she has taught policy analysis since 2006. Walsh is a member of the Faculty Advisory Council, the NWC’s Asia Pacific Studies Group (APSG) director and the founder/director of the Oceanography & Maritime Security Group (OMSG). She was a senior consultant to Washington, D.C.-area think tanks including senior associate at the Stimson Center and senior associate at a D.C.-area defense consulting firm, among other past positions there. Her research focuses on China and the Asia-Pacific region, particularly issues of security, technology, innovation and ocean or "blue" economy issues.

Prof. Brian C. Chao researches great-power relations, naval power and geostrategy, and US Indo-Asia-Pacific defense and foreign policies. His work appears in “Navies in Multipolar Worlds: From the Age of Sail to the Present" (Routledge), “Security, Development and Sustainability in Asia: A World Scientific Reference on Major Policy and Development Issues of 21st Century Asia” (World Scientific), International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, and Territory, Politics, Governance, among others. He teaches theater and national-security decision-making, as well as an elective course on Taiwan. He is also an associate of the University of Pennsylvania's Center for the Study of Contemporary China.

The views presented by the faculty or other guest speakers do not reflect official positions of the Naval War College, DON or DOD.