
Ely Ratner - Does Asia Need a Collective Defense Pact?
From The Asia Chessboard by Center for Strategic and International Studies
January 6, 2026 · 43 min
About this episode
Ely Ratner discusses the strategic competition with China and the case for a Pacific defense pact with host Mike.
Mike joins Ely Ratner, Principal at The Marathon Initiative and Senior Adviser at Clarion Strategies. Previously he was Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs during the Biden administration, and before that he was Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS). They discuss the strategic competition with China, the difficulties and opportunities around the China challenge, what the most significant things the U.S. did relating to allies and partners during the Biden Administration, and the case for a Pacific defense pact.
People in this episode
Host: Mike
Guest: Ely Ratner
Topics covered
- collective defense
- Indo-Pacific security
- China challenge
- U.S. allies
- Biden administration policies
- Pacific defense pact
Keywords
- Ely Ratner
- collective defense pact
- Indo-Pacific
- China
- Biden administration
- U.S. allies
- strategic competition
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: The Marathon Initiative, Clarion Strategies, Center for a New American Security (CNAS), Biden administration
Places: U.S., Asia
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