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Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus, chief of the National Guard Bureau, attended the 2025 Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense Conference on Aug. 27-28 in Hua Him, Thailand to strengthen the National Guard’s partnerships in the region.
Nordhaus joined Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Adm. Samuel Paparo, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, alongside defense chiefs and senior military leaders from 29 nations to discuss shared challenges and opportunities together.
Co-hosted by Paparo and Gen. Songwit Noonpakdee, Thailand’s chief of defense forces, the conference highlighted a collective commitment to regional security cooperation.
This was the first time an NGB chief attended the Indo-Pacific CHOD conference.
The Guard integrates with 18 Indo-Pacific nations through the State Partnership Program.
The Indo-Pacific, designated the War Department’s priority theater, spans half the Earth’s surface, from the U.S. West Coast to India’s western border and from Antarctica to the North Pole. Home to over 50% of the world’s population, 3,000 languages, and five U.S. treaty allies — Australia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand — the region is pivotal to global security.
As Caine noted, “The story of the 21st century will be written in the Indo-Pacific.”
Nordhaus held bilateral talks with military leaders from Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Singapore to deepen ties and explore new opportunities.
He also joined multilateral discussions with Paparo and leaders from Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand and the Philippines. Paparo praised the Guard’s civilian-acquired skills, such as cybersecurity expertise, as a force multiplier.
This year, the Philippines, Guam, and Hawaii Guard partners celebrate the 25th anniversary of consistent engagement within the SPP. Their partnership is the longest-running SPP relationship in the Indo-Pacific, reflecting a quarter-century of shared progress in regional security, training and stability.
It’s also one of the most consequential, as both the Philippines and Guam are situated in the first and second island chains, respectively. The first and second island chains are conceptual, strategic lines of islands in the Western Pacific that structure America’s containment strategy in East Asia.
With approximately 30 SPP engagements annually between the two nations, the training aims to enhance a wide range of critical competencies.
In May, a team of cyber professionals and an intelligence analyst from the Guam National Guard attended Balikatan 2025, participating in a three-week cyber defense exercise alongside teams from various nations.
Meanwhile, the Washington Guard recently completed its third annual Enduring Partners exercise with the Royal Thai Armed Forces, expanding this year to include both Army and Air Guard elements for a multi-domain approach.
Through joint exercises and cooperative engagements, the SPP bolsters partner nations’ capabilities, fostering stability and deterring aggression.
“Throughout our histories, we’ve fought together and we’ve bled together,” Caine said. “Today, we train together. And when we train together and operate together, it sends a strong and unmistakable message: this is a team you do not want to test.”
—By Master Sgt. Zach Sheely, National Guard Bureau
