Dr. Benjamin Blandin is an expert in maritime security and a Non-Resident Research Fellow at the Yokosuka Council on Asia-Pacific Studies (YCAPS), the Korea Institute of Maritime Strategy (KIMS), and Stratbase. He holds MSc degrees in Business and Political Science (Geostrategy, Geopolitics), as well as a PhD in Political Science. Before his academic career, he worked as a Senior Consultant in strategy for leading firms, including Accenture, Deloitte, Capgemini, and Airbus Defence and Space.

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Dr. Mateusz Chatys is a senior expert at the Centre for Asian Affairs at the University of Łódź in Poland. He studies the rivalry between China and the United States in Southeast Asia, focusing on the disputes in the South China Sea. His doctoral thesis examined the idea of patron–client relationships in China’s diplomacy with neighboring countries, using its ties with Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines as examples. His current research looks at China’s “gray zone” tactics and how other countries with competing claims—especially the Philippines—have responded since Rodrigo Duterte became president.

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RADM Rommel Jude Ong (Ret) served in the Philippine Navy until his compulsory retirement.in 2019. His last posting was as Vice Commander, during which he chaired various committees covering naval diplomacy, naval modernization, basing and infrastructure development, and career management
program for the uniformed and civilian personnel. Earlier in his career he has successfully commanded three (3) commissioned naval vessels, and later the Naval Intelligence Security Force, the Naval Task
Forces 11 and 80, Director of the Fleet Marine Warfare Center, and the Naval Forces West, which has operational jurisdiction over the West Philippine Sea. He has also occupied senior staff positions such as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Naval Operations (N3), the Assistant Deputy Chief for Joint Operations (AJ3)
and the Naval Inspector General. While he was still in the active service, he has written four (4) naval manuals focusing on the following subjects: naval decision-making process, naval exercises, naval operations, and protocols of the naval inspector general service. He is currently affiliated with the Ateneo School of Government (ASOG) as a Professor of Praxis and Senior Research Fellow.
RADM Ong is a graduate of the Philippine Military Class of 1987. He completed his GSC-equivalent training at the US Naval War College and his Senior Executive
Course on National Security (MNSA-equivalent) at the National Defense College of the Philippines. He
completed his Masters in Development Management at the Asian Institute of Management.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Ms. Atsuko Kanehara is the Research Director for the Canon Institute for International Studies and Senior Fellow for the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.  She was former Professor of International Law at Sophia University and former President of the Japanese Society of International Law.
Member of the Governing Board of IMO International Maritime Law Institute.
Concurrently, she is Policy Adviser for the Japan Coast Guard and member of the Committee on Submarine Cables and Pipelines under the International Law Association.

She delivered lectures at The Hague Academy of International Law in 2017, entitled “Reassessment of the Acts of the State in the Law of State Responsibility―A Proposal of an Integrative Theoretical Flamework of the Law of State Responsibility to Effectively Cope with the Internationally Harmful Acts of Non-State Actors,” which was published in Recueils des cours, Vol. 399 (2019).

Her principal recent publications in English are: “How to Ensure the Safety of the Japan Coast Guard While Maintaining Its Nature as A Police Organ When It Conducts Missions In Collaboration with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force under the Control Guidelines,” Japan Review, Vol 6, No. 2 (2024); “Refining Japan’s Integrative Position on the Territorial Sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands,” International Law Studies, Vol. 97 (2021); ”The Use of Force in Maritime Security and the Use of Arms in Law Enforcement under the Current Wide Understanding of Maritime Security,” Japan Review, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2019).

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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.

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Ray Powell is the Founder and Director of SeaLight, a maritime transparency project of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University in California.

Ray served for 35 years in the U.S. Air Force, including posts in the Philippines, Japan, Germany, and Qatar, as well as combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He commanded the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard from 2009-11. He also served three tours in the Pentagon; as the U.S. Air Attaché to Vietnam (2013-16); and as the U.S. Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché to Australia (2017-20).

Ray was a 2021 Fellow at Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute, and co-hosts the “Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?” podcast.

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