012: Ray Powell and SeaLight - Shedding Light on China’s Gray Zone Activities in the Indo-Pacific

Ray Powell is the Founder and Director of SeaLight, a maritime transparency project of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University. He is also the co-host of the “Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?” podcast. Ray served 35 years in the U.S. Air Force, including posts in the Philippines, Japan, Germany and Qatar, as well as combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On this episode of the Defense Tech Underground, Ray describes his 35 year career in the United States Air Force, his path to Stanford, and his journey to founding SeaLight. He explains China’s gray zone tactics in the South China Sea and SeaLight’s efforts to shed light on those activities. Ray offers insight into needed countermeasures to build up readiness and deterrence as well as the broader geopolitical landscape in the Indo-Pacific. 

This episode is hosted by Helen Phillips and Bryan Harvey. 

Full Bio:

Ray Powell is the Founder and Director of SeaLight, a maritime transparency project of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation at Stanford University, California. He is also the co-host of the “Why Should We Care About the Indo-Pacific?” podcast. Ray served 35 years in the U.S. Air Force, including posts in the Philippines, Japan, Germany and Qatar, as well as combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He served as the U.S. Defense Attaché to Australia and the U.S. Air Attaché to Vietnam.