HONOLULU – In mid-July, the Transnational Security Course (TSC) 25-1 welcomed 37 senior executives from 27 locations around the world to the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) campus in Waikiki. The weeklong intensive program, specifically tailored for senior security practitioners from the Indo-Pacific region, facilitated a deep dive into a broad spectrum of transnational security challenges.

The theme for the week was The Evolving Security Environment: Adapting to Unprecedented Change, and discussions were based on the premise that survival favors not the strongest nor the most intelligent, but those most adaptable to change.

Change has ironically been a constant throughout history, but the pace of recent shifts has accelerated. Politically, 74 countries held elections last year — a record. Technologically, quantum computing capabilities have advanced rapidly, while artificial intelligence is reshaping daily life at an astonishing rate. Demographically, 61 countries now have declining populations. Militarily, a record 23 NATO countries met the defense spending target of 2% of GDP in 2024 — a benchmark that has now more than doubled to 5% of GDP.

“In keeping with this evolving global environment, TSC 25-1 offered an intense week exploring key changes affecting the Indo-Pacific region and strategies to adapt at an equally robust pace.” Dr. Lori Forman, Course Manager along with Lt. Col. Walter Pratt. “Faculty presentations set the stage and outlined trends of concern to the security practitioners, but the success of the course hinged on the discussions that followed.”

“Change has ironically been a constant throughout history, but the pace of recent shifts has accelerated,” said Forman.

Veerle Nouwens, the executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies–Asia, flew in from Singapore to attend.

“It’s a very wide-ranging set of issues that the course covers, which allows for a breadth of conversation on a day-to-day basis,” Nouwens said. “At the same time, you’re meeting a wide range of stakeholders you normally wouldn’t meet in one place for an entire week.”

After completing TSC 25-1 and receiving her golden lanyard at the commencement ceremony, Nouwens joined the DKI APCSS alumni network of more than 16,000 professionals worldwide. She reflected on the opportunity to engage and collaborate with leading officials from around the region.

“You really discuss the challenges endemic to the region and see how these are viewed from national perspectives, but also share ideas on how those might be addressed together,” she said.