The Case for a Pacific Defense Pact

The time has come for the United States to build a collective defense pact in Asia. For decades, such a pact was neither possible nor necessary. Today, in the face of a growing threat from China, it is both viable and essential. American allies in the region are already investing in their own defenses and forging deeper military bonds. But without a robust commitment to collective defense, the Indo-Pacific is on a path to instability and conflict.

Dr. Ely Ratner is a Principal at The Marathon Initiative and Senior Advisor at Clarion Strategies. He served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs from 2021-2025 and as Deputy National Security advisor to Vice President Joe Biden from 2015-2017. He also worked in the office of Chinese and Mongolian affairs at the State Department and in the U.S. Senate as a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Outside of government, Dr. Ratner has worked as the Executive Vice President and Director of Studies at the Center for a New American Security, a Senior Fellow for China Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and as an Associate Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation. He received his B.A. from Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs and earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley.

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