Admiral Philip S. Davidson, Commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, shared his thoughts on challenges and opportunities in the region during the Daniel K. Inouye Speaker Series held on Tuesday night at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

The hybrid event, co-hosted by DKI APCSS with the DKI Institute and the Foundation for the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, included more than 400 people joining virtually from 40 countries across the globe and a limited sized live audience due to COVID safety rules.

After Davidson’s remarks, there was a short question and answer session with questions submitted by attendees during registration.

DKI Institute’s Jennifer Sabas also presented Davidson with a copy of the late senator’s book, “Journey to Washington,” in recognition for his work while serving as the Indo-Pacific Command Commander.

According to DKI APCSS Director Pete Gumataotao, “the intent of this Speaker Series is to invite Indo-Pacific leaders, both civilian and military, who interact with our Center and share their perspectives with our local community. It’s fitting for our local community to benefit from Sen. Inouye’s vision of bringing leaders from around the world here to Hawaii… a gateway for the U.S. to the Indo-Pacific and a gateway for the region to the us and a multi-racial symbol of a free and open Indo-Pacific to discuss important issues to help us build a more secure, stable and prosperous region.”

This event was the fourth iteration of the series.  Previous speakers include then Secretary of Defense Dr. Mark T. Esper, former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo Pacific Affairs Randall Schriver, and current U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Harry Harris.