Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?

Why Should We Care About China’s Campaign to Steal Our Secrets? | with David Shedd

Former Acting Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency David Shedd joins hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso to discuss his bestselling book “The Great Heist: China’s Epic Campaign to Steal America’s Secrets [https://www.amazon.com/Great-Heist-Campaign-Americas-Secrets/dp/0063451832].” Shedd reveals how China has executed the largest illicit wealth transfer in history - an estimated $600 billion per year in stolen Intellectual Property - and why it matters to everyone from Main Street workers to Indo-Pacific allies. In Ep. 138, Shedd breaks down China’s “capture, cage, and kill” strategy that lures Western companies with market access, traps them with restrictive laws, then undercuts them with cheaper copies of their own technology. He traces the campaign from Deng Xiaoping’s 1984 vision through Made in China 2025 and explains how two false Western assumptions - that China would play by WTO rules and eventually democratize - left the door wide open. The conversation covers the Tesla-to-BYD pipeline, the sale of advanced Nvidia chips, China’s hypersonic breakthroughs built on stolen stealth technology, Salt Typhoon and Volt Typhoon cyber intrusions embedded in critical infrastructure, and what allies like Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines are doing - or not doing - to respond. Shedd also delivers a direct simulated intelligence briefing to U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of his planned Beijing summit, warning that China’s Ministry of State Security now fields over 300,000 operatives with a dedicated bureau targeting the United States. This podcast is essential listening for policymakers, business leaders, academics, and anyone concerned about the intersection of economic security, technology competition, and the future of the Indo-Pacific. 👉 Follow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast [https://x.com/IndoPacPodcast], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-should-we-care-about-the-indo-pacific/], or Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/IndoPacPodcast] 👉 Follow Ray Powell on X, @GordianKnotRay [https://x.com/GordianKnotRay], or LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymondpowell/], or check out his maritime transparency work at SeaLight [https://www.sealight.live/] 👉 Follow Jim Carouso on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-carouso-baa31a9/] 👉 Sponsored by BowerGroupAsia [https://bowergroupasia.com/], a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

Why Should We Care if Southeast Asia is the World’s Fourth Largest Economy? | with retired Ambassador Brian McFeeters

Despite sweeping US tariffs, a landmark Supreme Court ruling, and ongoing trade policy uncertainty, businesses in Southeast Asia are holding firm. In this episode, hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso sit down with retired Ambassador Brian McFeeters [https://www.usasean.org/people/amb-brian-mcfeeters], President and CEO of the US-ASEAN Business Council, to explore what shifting US trade policies mean for companies operating across the region. Brian reveals why Southeast Asia remains a compelling destination for business investment. The region is now the world’s fourth largest economy, growing 25% faster than most other regions, with a young, digitally savvy population driving explosive growth in technology, financial services and healthcare. Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines - the “VIP” countries - are leading the charge. The conversation digs into the real impact of tariffs and the Supreme Court decision that struck them down, why non-tariff barriers like local content requirements matter more to companies than headline tariff rates, how Indonesia’s new trade agreement with the US could reshape market access, and whether Chinese competitors are gaining an edge in cloud services and infrastructure. Brian also discusses ASEAN’s promising digital economic framework agreement, which could codify free data flows across the region, and explains why Southeast Asia is seen as the most fertile ground in the world for deploying artificial intelligence - with welcoming government policies and none of the regulatory friction seen in Europe. Whether you follow trade policy, supply chain strategy, or emerging market opportunities, this episode offers a ground-level view of how business actually gets done in one of the world’s fastest-growing regions. 👉 Follow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast [https://x.com/IndoPacPodcast], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-should-we-care-about-the-indo-pacific/], or Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/IndoPacPodcast] 👉 Follow Ray Powell on X, @GordianKnotRay [https://x.com/GordianKnotRay], or LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymondpowell/], or check out his maritime transparency work at SeaLight [https://www.sealight.live/] 👉 Follow Jim Carouso on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-carouso-baa31a9/] 👉 Sponsored by BowerGroupAsia [https://bowergroupasia.com/], a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

Why Should We Care About the Iran War Energy Shock? | with Paul Everingham

The war in Iran has sent shockwaves through global energy markets - and no region feels it more acutely than the Indo-Pacific. In this episode, co-hosts Ray Powell and Nydia Ngiow sit down with Paul Everingham, CEO of the Asia Natural Gas & Energy Association (ANGEA), who joins after spending two days at the Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial in Tokyo. With the Persian Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply and a significant share of global liquid natural gas (LNG) exports are blocked. Paul explains that 70% of Asia’s oil originates in the Middle East, meaning every country in the region is exposed. On the natural gas side, South Asian nations - India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh - face the sharpest pain, as they depend heavily on Qatari LNG, while North Asian buyers like Japan and Korea are somewhat shielded by receiving Australian and US supply. The conversation covers Qatar’s shutdown of its LNG processing facilities and why a full restart could take six months if hydrocarbons are stripped from the plants. Paul unpacks the potential role of Russian oil and gas if sanctions are eased, the limits of pipeline alternatives from Saudi Arabia, and why coal use - already at record highs - is likely to climb further in 2026 as countries seek cheaper and more abundant alternatives. On nuclear energy, Paul is clear: it should be part of every country’s portfolio, but with a 10–20 year development timeline, it is a medium-term solution, not an immediate fix. His core advice to Indo-Pacific policymakers: diversify energy sources and lock in long-term contracts to hedge against price shocks. The episode closes with a sobering warning: if the disruption drags on, the world faces potential rationing, surging inflation and a severe global recession. 👉 Follow Paul Everingham [https://angeassociation.com/team/paul-everingham/] at ANGEA and Nydia Ngiow [https://bowergroupasia.com/teams/profiles/nydia-ngiow/] at BowerGroupAsia. 👉 Follow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast [https://x.com/IndoPacPodcast], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-should-we-care-about-the-indo-pacific/], or Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/IndoPacPodcast] 👉 Follow Ray Powell on X, @GordianKnotRay [https://x.com/GordianKnotRay], or LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymondpowell/], or check out his maritime transparency work at SeaLight [https://www.sealight.live/] 👉 Follow Jim Carouso on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-carouso-baa31a9/] 👉 Sponsored by BowerGroupAsia [https://bowergroupasia.com/], a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

Why Should We Care About the State of Thailand’s Democracy? | with Dr. Thitinan Pongsudhirak

Thailand's February 2026 snap election produced a result almost nobody predicted. The conservative Bhumjaithai Party, led by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and openly backed by the military and monarchy, won a commanding victory, defeating the reformist People's Party by over 70 seats. The once-dominant Shinawatra-linked Pheu Thai party collapsed to its worst showing ever. What happened? In this episode, Dr. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, senior advisor for BowerGroupAsia and professor of international relations at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, breaks down how Thailand's political system works and why it seems to keep producing the same outcome lately. He explains the cycle of reform movements rising, winning elections, and then being dissolved by the courts or overthrown by military coups. After 13 coups and 20 constitutions in under a century, voter fatigue finally set in: turnout dropped to 65% and many young voters stayed home. Thitinan explores how the Thailand-Cambodia border conflict - the worst military clash between ASEAN member states in nearly 60 years - fueled nationalist sentiment that Bhumjaithai weaponized on the campaign trail. He also unpacks a striking contradiction: two-thirds of voters approved a referendum to rewrite the military-era constitution, yet handed power to the very establishment that wrote it. The conversation covers Thailand's economic challenges (92% household debt-to-GDP, stagnant growth, disruption from electric vehicles and AI), the transformation of the US-Thailand alliance from Cold War treaty to transactional trade relationship, and mainland Southeast Asia's growing "arc of instability" - from Myanmar's civil war to cross-border scam networks. Will the old guard finally deliver growth and stability, or is a reckoning on the horizon? Thitinan says the pressure is immense, and if the new government doesn't perform, the next wave of instability could be even bigger. 👉 Follow Thitinan Pongsudhirak [https://bowergroupasia.com/teams/profiles/dr-thitinan-pongsudhirak/] at BowerGroupAsia 👉 Follow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast [https://x.com/IndoPacPodcast], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-should-we-care-about-the-indo-pacific/], or Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/IndoPacPodcast] 👉 Follow Ray Powell on X, @GordianKnotRay [https://x.com/GordianKnotRay], or LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymondpowell/], or check out his maritime transparency work at SeaLight [https://www.sealight.live/] 👉 Follow Jim Carouso on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-carouso-baa31a9/] 👉 Sponsored by BowerGroupAsia [https://bowergroupasia.com/], a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific

Why Should We Care About the Future of the Indian Ocean’s Most Strategic Island? | with Cleo Paskal

When the U.S. recently launched strikes on Iran, the world’s attention turned to Diego Garcia, a vital military base in the Indian Ocean. Known as the “footprint of freedom,” this isolated atoll allows the U.S. to port Navy ships, resupply nuclear submarines, and launch strategic bombers. However, its future is in serious jeopardy. During the conflict, the UK initially withheld permission for the U.S. to launch strikes from the island. Beyond that, the UK has been pushing a highly controversial deal to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, which includes Diego Garcia, to Mauritius. In this episode, hosts Ray Powell and Jim Carouso are joined by Cleo Paskal, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and a leading expert on Chinese political warfare. Cleo unpacks the dangerous implications of the Chagos handover, warning it could allow Chinese maritime assets to operate dangerously close to U.S. forces, threatening American power projection. Cleo unpacks the uncertain prospects for the deal, and then proposes instead giving the Chagossian people a democratic vote in their future, and suggests they may very well prefer the status quo or even a U.S. affiliation to any handover to Mauritius. The conversation then pivots to the Pacific Islands, where China is quietly expanding its influence through political and gray zone warfare. Cleo details how a Chinese state-owned company secured a foothold in Yap (Federated States of Micronesia) by building a remote runway, gaining political leverage and physical presence right next to planned U.S. defense infrastructure. Cleo also sounds the alarm on the U.S. territory of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Located on the Second Island Chain, CNMI currently allows Chinese tourists to arrive without a visa, leading to massive local corruption, intelligence risks, and illegal maritime crossings into the highly secure military hubs of Guam. Tune in to discover why Cleo believes the transfer of Diego Garcia would be a “colossal strategic blunder,” how China is co-opting U.S. funds for its own Belt and Road projects, and why the frontline of Indo-Pacific security is much closer to home than we realize. 👉 Follow Cleo Paskal at FDD [https://www.fdd.org/team/cleo-paskal/], on X at @CleoPaskal [https://x.com/CleoPaskal], or on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/cleopaskal/]. 👉 Follow us on X, @IndoPacPodcast [https://x.com/IndoPacPodcast], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/why-should-we-care-about-the-indo-pacific/], or Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/IndoPacPodcast] 👉 Follow Ray Powell on X, @GordianKnotRay [https://x.com/GordianKnotRay], or LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/raymondpowell/], or check out his maritime transparency work at SeaLight [https://www.sealight.live/] 👉 Follow Jim Carouso on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-carouso-baa31a9/] 👉 Sponsored by BowerGroupAsia [https://bowergroupasia.com/], a strategic advisory firm that specializes in the Indo-Pacific