Paparo, alongside President of Palau Surangel Whipps Jr., Governor of Hawaii Josh Green, M.D. and senior naval leaders from Australia, France and Canada were welcomed as keynote speakers for MILOPS.
“This 36th MILOPS is the largest we’ve ever done,” said Paparo. “It includes a broad spectrum of government and military leaders, operators, legal professionals and academic scholars coming together for one objective: advancing freedom, security and prosperity to all.”
This year’s theme, “Peace Through Strength: Advancing Indo-Pacific Security through Legal Vigilance and Legal Diplomacy,” guided conversations centered on monitoring manipulation of the law and building consensus through transparent dialogue.
“We tailored this year’s theme to address current threats and enhance deterrence,” said U.S. Navy Captain Dustin Wallace, Indo-Pacific Command Staff Judge Advocate. “We are focusing on legal vigilance and legal diplomacy. We are working to expose and oppose malign behavior from our adversaries, and at the same time, highlight the legitimacy of our own actions.”
MILOPS 2025 aims to foster enduring partnerships and promote security, freedom, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region through open dialogue and concrete initiatives focused on the rule of law. It empowers nations to address common challenges and determine how to better work together to deter and respond to coercion, aggression and legal warfare.
“In combination, legal vigilance and legal diplomacy enable deterrence because they increase the cost of coercion, they expose malign actions, and they reduce the space for misunderstanding, highlighting our unity and our strength when we’re working together,” Paparo said.
USINDOPACOM is committed to enhancing stability in the Indo-Pacific region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, deterring aggression and, when necessary, prevailing in conflict.
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