Pacific Forum

✨ Happy Juneteenth ✨

Today, we commemorate a profound moment in American history—the day in 1865 when the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, were finally informed of their freedom, over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation.
Juneteenth is a celebration of liberation, a reflection on resilience, and a call to continue the work of justice.

At Pacific Forum, we remain committed to fostering dialogue, inclusion, and understanding across all communities.

🚨 New Pacific Forum Publication — The Pilot #38

has released #38 – Three schools of Russian thought amid growing asymmetry with China: Part 2 by Gilbert Rozman, Emeritus Musgrave Professor of Sociology at Princeton University. The piece examines three schools of thought expressing wariness at perceived between and itself: power aggrandizement, economic domination, and Sinocentric revanchist.

📖 Review our and read the article: https://pacforum.org/publications/the-pilot-38-three-schools-of-russian-thought-amid-growing-asymmetry-with-china-part-2/

⚙️ Yujin Son, James A. Kelly Korea Fellow, published a piece in The Diplomat this week analyzing South Korean imports and particularly developments in its reliance on for those minerals.

Son identified gallium and germanium imports as having diversified away from Beijing and iridium, graphite, and tungsten imports as having become significantly more dependent on China.

She concluded, "South Korea's strength in semiconductors and batteries is real. So is the upstream vulnerability that underpins them. Closing the gap between those two facts is the defining supply chain challenge of the decade."

📖 Read the full article here:

South Korea Has Diversified Some Critical Minerals. The Hardest Dependencies Remain. For six minerals critical to South Korea’s most strategically important industries, China’s 2025 share of Korean imports ranges from 14.8 percent to 94.2 percent

🌊 Daniel Choi, research intern, published a piece in The MOC at the Center for Maritime Strategy discussing Representative Jared Golden's to the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Choi noted that Golden's amendment runs counter to the administration's "Bridge Strategy," part of its Maritime Action Plan (MAP) intended to enable involvement in American shipbuilding.

"Without the promise of a procurement of Korean-built battle force ships," he asserted, "the commercial and political rationale for South Korea to front billions in U.S. shipbuilding weakens considerably."

🔗 Read the article:

Golden’s Amendment and the U.S.-ROK Shipbuilding Alliance - Center for Maritime Strategy On June 5, 2026, Representative Jared Golden's amendment passed the House Armed Services Committee as part of the FY 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), now heading to a House vote. Intended to promote the U.S. domestic shipbuilding industry, the amendment prohibits any FY 2027 NDAA fund...

Launches the Japan-U.S. Technology Policy Fellowship 🇯🇵🤝🇺🇸

We are pleased to announce the launch of the Japan-U.S. Technology Policy Fellowship — a new nine-month program for emerging Japanese and American professionals interested in advancing bilateral cooperation on technology policy.

This initiative is made possible through the generous support of the Japan Foundation.

Modeled on Pacific Forum's growing portfolio of technology-focused fellowships, the program will bring together a diverse cohort from Japan and the United States to explore critical issues at the intersection of technology, economic security, innovation, and public policy — with particular emphasis on semiconductors and other advanced technologies.

Through research, professional development, expert engagement, and exchanges with leading stakeholders, fellows will gain firsthand exposure to the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of Japan-U.S. technology cooperation.

Designed and developed by Pacific Forum's Chief Research & Development Officer, Akhil Ramesh, the program builds on the success of our semiconductor-focused fellowships involving India, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

📩 Applications will open soon.

Japan–U.S. Technology Policy Fellowship (JUST) Fellowship Program Japan–U.S. Technology Policy Fellowship (JUST) “The technologies that will define the twenty-first century are being developed today. The relationships that will govern them must be built now.” — […]

🌏 Unlock new perspectives on the at the .

From exclusive breakfast briefings to confidential discussions, interact with diplomats, thought leaders, and policymakers.

Explore , , and while strengthening your professional network.

🔗 Learn more & join us: https://pacforum.org/honolulu-international-forum/

🎤 William Alberque, senior adjunct fellow, was quoted in a CBC News piece discussing the status of Iran's capabilities, written by Mark Gollom.

Alberque clarified that when the U.S. Central Command told President Trump that the military infrastructure was destroyed, they only meant that the most interesting targets on their list had been eliminated.

He added, "Did they tell him that there are thousands, if not tens of thousands of additional targets that they did not hit because at this point you're using a hammer to go after ants? No, of course not."

📖 Read the full article here:

ANALYSIS | Iran's military has been degraded. What's left? | CBC News Earlier this week, the U.S. launched two nights of airstrikes on Iran. Those attacks seemed to suggest that the U.S. believes the regime, despite weeks of coming under constant bombardment before the April ceasefire, still retains a significant cache of weapons that need to be taken out.

K. Tristan Tang, nonresident Vasey Fellow and Young Leader, published a piece for the Jamestown Foundation exploring the apparent of leadership.

Tang offered potential explanations for this lethargy on the part of these senior officials, including unfamiliarity with their roles given recent personnel changes, fear of punishment in the event of an error, or even political distrust.

He identified Zhang Shengmin as most accountable for the effects of inactivity, saying, "Once Xi loses confidence in him, there is likely more than enough evidence to build a case for his prosecution."

🔗 Read the article:

jamestown.org

🇦🇺 Brad Glosserman, Director of Research & Senior Advisor, published a piece in The Japan Times discussing the Australian plan to review as the and have done.

Glosserman described criticism of the project, explaining that few debate whether or not needs to modernize its capabilities, but more are unsure whether AUKUS is the right framework to use.

On a broader level, he observed, "If AUKUS doesn't work, it will be because of its partners' (in)action, not action of its own. That makes AUKUS a paradigmatic example of the regional security framework writ large."

📖 Read the full article here:

Hard scrutiny of AUKUS won’t scuttle that deal Power and passion won’t overcome the strategic logic of Australia’s sub ambitions.

⚽️ Tran Thi Mong Tuyen, fellow, was quoted in a Reuters article discussing the construction by of what it claims will be the world's largest stadium, written by Francesco Guarascio.

Tuyen observed, "In a growing country like Vietnam, infrastructure often needs to precede demand."

She also signaled that gone underutilized and delays in returns on can pose risks.

🔗 Read the full article here: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vietnams-vingroup-forges-ahead-with-worlds-largest-stadium-despite-demand-doubts-2026-06-11/