The Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) held a one-day workshop Jan. 30 entitled “Space and the Indo-Pacific: Issues, Challenges and Cooperative Priorities.”

Space is fast emerging as a domain of major strategic significance for the United States, its allies and key partners in the Indo-Pacific region. Increasing recognition of this significance, however, has not been accompanied by a greater shared awareness of the issues, challenges and potential opportunities for cooperation in this domain, particularly as they relate to priority security concerns in the Indo-Pacific. This workshop brought together relevant on-island individuals, agencies and organizations for an exploratory discussion of these and related topics.

Dr. Al Oehlers was the DKI APCSS workshop lead and said he was excited about bringing this ground-breaking discussion to the Center.

“This is a fast-changing domain, with enormous implications for security in the Indo-Pacific. Though only a small initial step, we’re proud we could convene a network of diverse Hawaii-based practitioners who will carry the conversation forward.”

Enabled by the non-attribution environment of DKI APCSS, the workshop facilitated an exchange of perspectives on:

• The priority issues in the space domain relating to security and security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The challenges currently encountered and likely to emerge that need to be addressed.
• The potential areas where cooperation and collaboration may be pursued among allies and partners.
• Potential follow-on activities to sustain the conversation relating to the space domain, including constituting an on-island “community of interest” to continue discussions, further workshops and/or conferences, and other partnered opportunities.

Among the featured speakers was Dr. Joan Johnson-Freese, U.S. Naval War College, who spoke via video teleconference on the topic of “Space Security Cooperation: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities.” Also featured was  Dr. Michael Gleason, The Aerospace Corporation, who discussed the topic of “The Private Sector in Space: Some Observations.”

The workshop concluded with DKI APCSS Director Pete Gumataotao providing closing remarks in which he highlighted the importance of continuing the discussion and thanking the participants for their cooperation.