At the beginning of the Fall 2025 semester, four MAIA students, Anita Aravena-Crellin, Ashlynn Lester, Amanda Spincola, & Wilson Tang, were awarded $3,000 grants by the Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs (CIPA) to write white papers on deterrence in the Indo-Pacific.
Earlier this month, they presented their research at the 2025 Indo-Pacific Policy Lab Intern Showcase held by CIPA at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Their research papers were as follows:
- Anita Aravena-Crellin presented "The Powerplay Paradox: US Unilateralism and the Brittle Architecture of Integrated Deterrence."
- Ashlynn Lester presented “Strengthening the ROK-US Alliance for Chinese and North Korean Deterrence: How the US Can Address South Korea’s Population Crisis.”
- Amanda Spincola presented “Showing Up and Showing Off: The Importance of Perception in Asia-Pacific Deterrence."
- Wilson Tang presented "Integrated Deterrence and the Informal Alliances.”
The students' presentations and papers are available to view for free at the Center for Indo-Pacific Affairs website:
https://manoa.hawaii.edu/indopacificaffairs/2026/03/05/indo-pacific-policy-lab-intern-showcase/