Atlantic Council SCOWCROFT CENTER FOR STRATEGY AND SECURITY
ISSUE BRIEF
The Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security works to develop sustainable, nonpartisan strategies to address the most important security challenges facing the United States and the world. The Center honors General Brent Scowcroft’s legacy of service and embodies his ethos of nonpartisan commitment to the cause of security, support for US leadership in cooperation with allies and partners, and dedication to the mentorship of the next generation of leaders. The Indo-Pacific Security Initiative (IPSI) housed within the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security informs and shapes the strategies, plans, and policies of the United States and its allies and partners to address the most important rising security challenges in the Indo Pacific, including China’s growing threat to the international order and North Korea’s destabilizing nuclear weapons advancements. IPSI produces innovative analysis, conducts tabletop exercises, hosts public and private convenings, and engages with US, allied, and partner governments, militaries, media, other key private and public sector stakeholders, and publics. This work on production diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific by the IndoPacific Security Initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security has been made possible by support from RTX. The Atlantic Council maintains a strict intellectual independence policy, and the analysis and conclusions presented in this issue brief are the authors’ alone.
Production diplomacy for deterrence, readiness, and resilience in the Indo-Pacific JUNE 2024
ANDREW BROWN, JOHN WATTS, AND MARKUS GARLAUSKAS
Executive summary While “production diplomacy” is a new term, it is not a new concept. It is an approach that integrates the defense industrial bases (DIBs) of allies and partners. Production diplomacy provides opportunities to protect supply chains, strengthen alliances and partnerships, enhance deterrence, and build defense readiness, though it is not without risks and challenges. Given the potential of these opportunities to help meet the growing challenges of an evolving geostrategic environment in which it faces multiple adversaries simultaneously, the United States should rapidly develop and implement new production diplomacy initiatives, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William A. LaPlante coined the term “production diplomacy” at a public event in September 2023.1 It was subsequently defined in the National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) released in January 2024, but its history dates back to at least the Cold War.2 The NDIS defines production diplomacy as a strategy to protect DIB supply chains, but it can support far more national security objectives, especially in the unique geostrategic environment of the Indo-Pacific.3 Production diplomacy can play a key role in deepening and broadening integration within and among allies and partners, while enhancing resilience and building both stockpiles and surge capacity. Along with these advantages, the application of production diplomacy comes with risks and challenges, which include the difficulties in creating sustainable environments for indus1
“Strengthening the US Industrial Base with Hon. Dr. William A. LaPlante,” Center for Strategic and International Studies, September 26, 2023, https://www.csis.org/events/strengthening-usindustrial-base-hon-dr-william-laplante.
2
Joseph Clark, “DoD releases its first Defense Industrial Strategy,” US Department of Defense, January 12, 2024, https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3644527/dodreleases-first-defense-industrial-strategy/.
3
Ibid.