Ely Ratner - Does Asia Need a Collective Defense Pact?

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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