Defeating Threats in Indo-PACOM
This transcript is made possible through the sponsorship of Schneider Electric
Maj. Gen. Doug Raaberg, USAF (Ret.):
Thank you for joining us to discuss perhaps the greatest reason to prepare for great power conflict. And
as our moderator just said, Defeating Threats in Indo-PACOM. Yet according to The Economist magazine,
"The first shot of the next war between the world's big powers, it is often said, will be fired in space."
What you see on this panel is representative of the integration of air, space, and allied power to
challenge the destabilizing behavior of China, North Korea, and Russia in a region that connects the
economic powerhouse of East Asia to the newer dynamism of South Asia.
Please welcome my guests. First to my left and your right, or your left, Brig. Gen. Anthony "Chachi"
Mastalir, Commander of the United States Space Forces Indo-Pacific. Thank you. To his left is Col.
Sugiyama Kimitoshi, Commander of the Space Operations Group, Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
Col. Sugiyama Kimitoshi:
Yeah.
Maj. Gen. Doug Raaberg, USAF (Ret.):
To his left is Brig. Gen. Select Col. David "Ajax" Berkland, Pacific Air Force's Chief of Staff.
Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Mastalir:
Air Power.
Maj. Gen. Doug Raaberg, USAF (Ret.):
I feel like I'm dancing with the stars already. And to his left is Col. Jongseo "Jay" Park, Air & Space
Attache, Embassy of the Republic of Korea. Let's get going.
Gen. Mastalir, Chachi, set the scene for us please, sir. Over the past decade, China has rapidly developed
into a major international space power, effectively multiplying its number of on-orbit satellites tenfold.
So first of all, how do you address the growing competition in space? And with a second follow-up
question really, what measures are being taken to ensure space superiority?
Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Mastalir:
Hey, thanks Doug, I appreciate that. And first of all, congratulations to Air & Space Forces Association
because tripling in size in one year. Are you kidding me? I mean, that's better than the PRC. Way to go
AFA.
Maj. Gen. Doug Raaberg, USAF (Ret.):
Thank you. Just for that. Hold on. He gets a free T-shirt.
Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Mastalir:
Oh, thank you. That's all I had to do? All right, thanks. Look, we're going to have a little fun, but this is a
serious issue. As we've heard all morning, all day yesterday, some of my folks asked me, "What should
we expect when we talk about re-optimizing for Great Power Competition?" And I said, "You. You are a
