The Impact of Hybrid Warfare in the Indo-Pacific
On July 28, 2022, the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) and the Nakasone Peace Institute (NPI) held a joint event on the development of Russia’s hybrid warfare and the outlook on its impact to security challenges in the Indo-Pacific, including implications for the U.S.-Japan alliance.
The war in Ukraine has provided a dramatic example of Russia’s hybrid warfare. In addition to its conventional forces, Russia has employed economic coercion, through energy resources and food supplies, as well as political manipulation in a combined strategy against Ukraine. As the war enters its next stage, there are growing concerns among policymakers on the potential impact of Russia’s hybrid warfare and how it might spill over into other regions, particularly the Indo-Pacific.
This event brought together experts on U.S.-Japan relations and former practitioners with wide-ranging experiences in the U.S. and Japanese defense services to discuss the lessons learned from the war in Ukraine and what can be done to improve the United States’ and Japan’s responses to hybrid warfare. The event began with keynote remarks from ADM (Ret.) Takashi Saito and ADM (Ret.) Jonathan Greenert on their outlooks on the security environment in the aftermath of Russia-Ukraine War. While the second half of the event featured panel discussions from LTG (Ret.) Goro Matsumura, Taylor Fravel, Sheila Smith, and Hideshi Tokuchi on hybrid warfare and creating a way forward for the United States and Japan.
KEYNOTE REMARKS
Perspectives on Security Environment in the Aftermath of Russia-Ukraine War
Speakers
ADM (Ret.) Takashi Saito, Former Chief of Joint Staff, JSDF
ADM (Ret.) Jonathan Greenert, Former Chief of Naval Operations
PANEL DISCUSSION | Analysis from the Hybrid Warfare Perspective
Presenter
LTG (Ret.) Goro Matsumura, Former Commanding General, Northeastern Army, JGSDF
Discussant
Taylor Fravel, Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
PANEL DISCUSSION | The Way Forward for Japan-U.S. Alliance
Presenter
Sheila Smith, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
Discussant
Hideshi Tokuchi, President, Research Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Senior Research Advisor, NPI
Moderators
Iduru Fukumoto VADM (Ret.), Former President, Maritime Staff College, JMSDF
Alison Szalwinski, Vice President of Research, The National Bureau of Asian Research
Speakers Bios
ADM (Ret.) Takashi Saito, Former Chief of Joint Staff, JSDF
ADM(Ret.) Saito graduated from National Defense Academy and the US Naval War College. Commissioned as a Submariner, he served in various command assignments in maritime operations, including as Commander of JS HAYASHIO and JS SETOSHIO, before becoming the 27th Chief of Maritime Staff in 2005. His last assignment was as the 2nd Chief of Joint Staff before retiring from the service in 2009.
He currently serves NPI as the Maritime Security Study Group lead.
ADM (Ret.) Jonathan W. Greenert
ADM Greenert graduated from the US Naval Academy with a degree in Ocean Engineering. His assignments as the naval officer include Commander, USS Honolulu (SSN); Commander, US 7th Fleet and Deputy Commander, US Pacific Fleet; and Commander, US Fleet Command. He served as the 30th Chief of Naval Operation from 2011 to 2015 before retirement from the service.
He currently holds Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies at The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR).
LTG(Ret.) Goro Matsumura, Former Commanding General, Northeastern Army, JGSDF
LTG (Ret.) Matsumura graduated from Tokyo University with a degree in Engineering before joining Japan Ground Self Defense Force (JGSDF). He commanded the 3rd Contingent of Iraq Reconstruction Support Group before serving as Commanding General, 10th Division, JGSDF; Vice Chief of Joint Staff; and Commanding General of Northeastern Army, JGSDF before retiring from JGSDF in 2016.
He is currently a member of the NPI Maritime Security Study Group.
M. Taylor Fravel, Director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
M. Taylor Fravel is the Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Taylor studies international relations, with a focus on international security, China, and East Asia. His books include Strong Borders, Secure Nation: Cooperation and Conflict in China’s Territorial Disputes, (Princeton University Press, 2008) and Active Defense: China’s Military Strategy Since 1949 (Princeton University Press, 2019). Taylor is a graduate of Middlebury College and Stanford University, where he received his PhD. He also has graduate degrees from the London School of Economics and Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.
Taylor has been a member of the board of directors of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations and serves as the Principal Investigator for the Maritime Awareness Project.
Sheila A. Smith, John E. Merow senior fellow for Asia-Pacific studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
Sheila A. Smith is John E. Merow senior fellow for Asia-Pacific studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). An expert on Japanese politics and foreign policy, she is the author of Japan Rearmed: The Politics of Military Power, Intimate Rivals: Japanese Domestic Politics and a Rising China (released in Japanese as 日中 親愛なる宿敵: 変容する日本政治と対中政策), and Japan’s New Politics and the U.S.-Japan Alliance. She is also the author of the CFR interactive guide Constitutional Change in Japan. Smith is a regular contributor to the CFR blog Asia Unbound and a frequent contributor to major media outlets in the United States and Asia.
Hideshi Tokuchi, President, Research Institute for Peace and Security
Mr. Tokuchi graduated from Tokyo University and the Fletcher School of International Affairs. He has held key senior positions in the Japan Ministry of Defense (JMOD), including Director General of Operational Policy Bureau; Director General of Personnel and Education Bureau; Director General of Finance and Equipment Bureau; and Director General of Defense Policy Bureau before serving as the 1st Vice Minister of Defense for International Affairs in 2014. Mr. Tokuchi retired from JMOD in 2015.
He is currently the President of Research Institute for Peace and Security and Senior Research Advisor for NPI.
VADM(Ret.) Iduru Fukumoto, Former President, Maritime Staff College
VADM (Ret.) Fukumoto graduated from National Defense Academy and served in the Japan Maritime Defense Force (JMSDF), during which he performed various operational assignments including as a Surface Warfare Officer. He was also the Defense Attaché to Turkey and Commander of Mine Warfare Force, JMSDF, before taking office as President Maritime Staff College. Since retiring from the JMSDF, he has served various advisory positions including Senior Advisor for the National Security Council and Advisor for the Headquarters for Ocean Policy at the Cabinet Office of Japan.
He is currently a member of the Maritime Security Study Group.
Alison Szalwinski, Vice President of Research, The National Bureau of Asian Research
Alison Szalwinski is Vice President of Research at NBR. Ms. Szalwinski provides executive leadership to NBR’s policy research agenda and oversees research teams in Seattle and Washington, D.C. She is the author of numerous articles and reports and co-editor of the Strategic Asia series along with Ashley J. Tellis and Michael Wills, including the most recent volumes, Strategic Asia 2021–22: Navigating Tumultuous Times in the Indo-Pacific (2022), Strategic Asia 2020: U.S.-China Competition for Global Influence (2020), Strategic Asia 2019: China’s Expanding Strategic Ambitions (2019), and Strategic Asia 2017–18: Power, Ideas, and Military Strategy in the Asia-Pacific (2017).
Photo by Fadel Senna/AFP via Getty Images