AFCEA/USNI WEST 2026

Synchronizing Five Eyes Integrated Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific (Room Sharpening Our Competitive Edge Stage - Hall B)

12 Feb 26
9:45 AM - 10:45 AM

Tracks: Sharpening Our Competitive Edge Stage

Speaker(s): CDRE David Frost, RAN, Naval Attache to the United States, Royal Australian Navy; Cdre Gus Carnie, RN, Naval Attache to the United States, Royal Navy; Capt. Captain Luc Tremblay, RCN, Canadian Naval Attache to the United States, Royal Canadian Navy; CMDCM Rachel Costello, USN (Ret.), Director, National Securities Initiatives, University of California, San Diego; CDR Timothy Gore, RNZN, Commander, Royal Navy New Zealand

The strategic landscape of the Indo-Pacific has shifted from a state of "rising competition" to a theater of persistent gray-zone coercion and high-end kinetic signaling. In the wake of the "Justice Mission 2025" blockade drills, which demonstrated a sophisticated rehearsal of regional isolation, the Five Eyes Alliance partners must evolve beyond traditional "presence" missions. This panel examines the operationalization of Integrated Deterrence—a collective effort to synchronize military power, intelligence, and diplomatic resolve to check aggression without triggering unintended escalation. This session provides a critical look at how the Five Eyes Alliance looks to calibrate its force posture to ensure that maritime resolve remains a credible, sustainable barrier against the "tightening chain" of regional dominance.