On October 7-8, 2024, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante led the first plenary meeting of the Partnership for Indo-Pacific Industrial Resilience (PIPIR) in Honolulu, Hawaii. The event was attended by National Armament Directors and senior leaders from PIPIR member nations in both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions. It was hosted by the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies along with the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM).
PIPIR is a multilateral forum aimed at enhancing defense industrial resilience to support regional security and economic prosperity in the Indo-Pacific area. It seeks to accelerate cooperation within the defense industrial base by reducing production barriers, establishing new sustainment hubs, and addressing supply chain challenges.
"From day one, Secretary Austin has driven success through teamwork," stated Dr. LaPlante. "Today's security environment demands closer collaboration with our allies and partners. PIPIR will help strengthen our collective ability to produce and sustain warfighting capability in the Indo-Pacific, and the National Armaments Directors are uniquely positioned to drive action in these areas."
During this initial meeting, participants adopted a Core Vision Statement that outlines strategic principles for collaboration on defense industrial resilience. This builds on a previously endorsed Statement of Principles for Indo-Pacific Defense Industrial Base Collaboration signed by 13 nations at the Shangri-La Dialogue in May 2024.
Members also announced four workstreams focused on Sustainment, Production, Supply Chain Resilience, and Policy Optimization. These workstreams aim to identify key projects with appointed leadership to operationalize activities effectively. Participants emphasized delivering solutions that enhance shared defense industrial resilience and stressed forging closer industry partnerships while committing to creating an advisory board.
Before the plenary session began, INDOPACOM hosted PIPIR delegates at Camp Smith to provide regional perspectives on multi-lateral industrial partnerships' implications.
The establishment of PIPIR supports DoD's implementation of its National Defense Industrial Strategy and Regional Sustainment Framework which focus on strengthening international defense production relationships.
