Overview

Among the many island nations in the Pacific, the United States and Japan hold close relationships with three in particular. The Freely Associated States (FAS) of the Republic of Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau, are critically important allies of both the U.S. and Japan to ensure a regional liberal order (freedom, democracy, rule of law) in the North Pacific.

The Pacific Islands Maritime Domain Awareness Program aims to make policy recommendations to the U.S. and Japan on Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) and related issues vis-à-vis the FAS considering the following five major topic areas.
1. MDA Data Collection
2. Ecological Impacts of Climate Change on the Marine Environment
3. Data Fusion, Analysis, and Sharing
4. Maritime Enforcement
5. U.S.-Japan Cooperation in the North Pacific to facilitate a Free and Open Indo-Pacific

Washington, DC Conference

On November 1, 2022, Sasakawa USA convened the first Pacific Islands MDA conference in Washington, DC, led by the Hon. Randall G. Schriver, director of the Pacific Islands MDA Program and advisory committee member of Sasakawa USA, as well as chairman of the board at Project 2049 Institute. The dialogue welcomed 40 members from the U.S., Japan, and Pacific Islands who are policy makers, industry and government experts, and academics. Hon. Schriver and Dr. Alfred Oehlers, adviser of the Pacific Islands MDA Program at Sasakawa USA, moderated the day’s engaging discussions which covered topics such as challenges in the Pacific Islands and maritime security toolkits available for Pacific Island states.

Honolulu, HI Conference

On January 31, 2023, Hon. Schriver led the second iteration of the Pacific Islands MDA conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. The conference brought together 30 participants who are current and former U.S. government officials, military, academics, as well as experts from Japan, the Pacific Islands, and other partnering nations. The day’s captivating conversations covered a wide range of topics, such as views from the Pacific Islands, understanding toolkits available in the Pacific region, and bolstering the U.S.-Japan and allied nations’ cooperation in the region.

Policy Recommendation Report

In summer 2024, Sasakawa USA published the Pacific Islands Maritime Domain Awareness Policy Recommendation Report, which summarizes the key findings from Sasakawa USA’s two Pacific Islands MDA conferences and explores policy recommendations for the U.S., Japan, and partnering countries in the Indo-Pacific region. In brief, the report aims to institutionalize and expand cooperation and communication amongst the stakeholder nations to further bolster MDA capabilities and toolkits available in the region. To highlight the program and promote the publication, Sasakawa USA hosted a publication event on August 1, 2024. Read the report here.

Policy Recommendation Report Launch Event

On August 1, 2024, Sasakawa USA held an event to launch the Pacific Islands Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) Policy Recommendation Report. The event was led by the Honorable Randall G. Schriver, who serves as the director of Sasakawa USA’s Pacific Islands MDA program and chairman of the Project 2049 Institute.

The report launch event began with opening remarks from Dr. Satohiro Akimoto, chairman and president of Sasakawa USA. This was followed by a presentation from Mr. Tomoaki Ishigaki, minister of congressional affairs at the Embassy of Japan, who discussed Japan’s engagement policy and strategy in the Pacific region.

Hon. Schriver  moderated a briefing session featuring three experts on Pacific Islands maritime domain awareness: Ms. Kathryn Paik, senior fellow and Australia chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); Mr. Alex Gray, CEO of American Global Strategies; and Ms. Jessica Stone, correspondent at Voice of America. The panel focused on two main areas: the political feasibility of policy recommendations outlined in the report and the importance of coordination and commitment by stakeholder countries in the region.

Following the expert discussion, a lively Q&A session allowed attendees to engage with the panelists and delve deeper into the report’s findings and recommendations.

This report launch event marked an important step in addressing maritime security and cooperation in the Pacific Islands region, bringing together experts and policymakers to discuss crucial strategies for maritime domain awareness.