On Monday, ASPI USA and Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service's Center for Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Studies convened a red team workshop on China's Pacific Islands strategy. Participants—Pacific specialists and China experts from the US and partner countries—stepped into the shoes of Wang Yi's senior advisors to game out Beijing's options.

Provocative scenarios included a potential Chinese military springboard in the Pacific, a game-changing American deep-sea mining initiative, and a watershed vote that introduced both opportunities and challenges for the "advisors." Participants channeled the strategic debates likely unfolding within Zhongnanhai, drawing on their expertise in Chinese decision-making and regional dynamics to develop strategic empathy—understanding an adversary's calculations, constraints, and motivations—to challenged conventional thinking, and to reveal novel insights for Indo-Pacific policy development.

Our thanks to all participants, observers, and Georgetown's Center for Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Studies for this valuable collaboration.

Shout out to the team responsible for this successful event: Jonah Bock, Greg Brown, Leah Markworth, Patrick Centeno, and Kaitlyn Flynn.