Monday, March 23, 2026
3:00–4:00 pm HST
In-Person Event: 258 Moore Hall
Watch the Video
On Monday, March 23 at 3:00 pm HST, we were joined by four Indo-Pacific Policy Lab (IPPL) members to showcase their internship experiences and research projects during the fall 2025 semester. Their projects focused on one of two CIPA research areas: diplomacy and deterrence, examining how a specific Indo-Pacific country uses diplomacy and deterrence in their foreign policy; or flexible alliance networks, analyzing how flexible alliances like the Quad and AUKUS contribute to integrated deterrence.
This showcase featured presentations by the following interns:
Anita Aravena is pursuing a Master’s degree in Asian International Affairs at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, where she is also a graduate fellow at the East-West Center. She is interested in how China engages with its neighbors through diplomacy, health cooperation, and cultural exchange, with a current focus on China–South Korea–US relations. During the fall 2025 IPPL program, she wrote a paper titled “The Powerplay Paradox: US Unilateralism and the Brittle Architecture of Integrated Deterrence.”
Ashlynn Lester is a Master’s student in the Asian Studies program at the University of Hawai’i. She is a Native Hawaiian, born on O’ahu, raised in Texas and has returned home to Hawai’i to be with family and further her education. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history at West Texas A&M University where she was a McNair and Attebury Honors Scholar. Her research interest is the South Korean Family Planning Program during the presidency of Park Chung Hee. Her focus is on the role of women’s bodies and labor in nation building initiatives. During the fall 2025 IPPL program, she wrote a paper titled “Strengthening the ROK-US Alliance for Chinese and North Korean Deterrence: How the US Can Address South Korea’s Population Crisis.”
Amanda Spincola is pursuing an MA in Asian International Affairs with a focus on China at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. She currently works as a graduate assistant in the Department of Asian Studies and is a Student Affiliate at the East-West Center in Honolulu. Her previous experience includes internships at the Department of State and US Indo-Pacific Command. Her primary research area is China, and her interests encompass maritime security, geopolitics, military history, cultural preservation, emerging nuclear technologies, and space exploration. Miss Spincola also holds a BA in anthropology and history from UHM, where she graduated summa cum laude. During the fall 2025 IPPL program, she wrote a paper titled “Showing Up and Showing Off the Importance of Perception in Deterrence.”
Wilson Tang is an MA student in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He specializes in East Asian history, with a focus on political, cultural, social, and military developments. His research interests center on the processes of state-building. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2016, and his Master of Arts in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago in 2021. During the fall 2025 IPPL program, he wrote a paper titled “Integrated Deterrence and the Informal Alliances.”