Kathryn Paik

Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Australia Chair
Photo: CSIS

Kathryn Paik is a deputy director and senior fellow with the Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Prior to joining CSIS, Kathryn served in the United States Marine Corps for over 23 years, most recently as the director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific on the National Security Council (NSC) (2021–2023), where she spearheaded numerous initiatives for the administration, including the creation of the first U.S. Pacific Partnership Strategy and the initial U.S.-Pacific Islands Forum Summit. Prior to her time at the NSC, Kathryn held a variety of positions as a Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia foreign area officer, including serving as the marine attaché to Indonesia for three years and as a CH-46E combat helicopter pilot, during which she deployed to Iraq and throughout the Indo-Pacific. Kathryn has a master’s in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School and a bachelor of science in systems engineering from the Naval Academy. She speaks Mandarin and Indonesian.

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Audio Briefs

Australia Doubles Down on Southeast Asia

An audio version of “⁠Australia Doubles Down on Southeast Asia⁠,” a new Commentary by CSIS’s Kathryn Paik and Gregory B. Poling. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs. 

Podcast Episode by Kathryn Paik and Gregory B. Poling — June 9, 2025

Audio Briefs

Australia Doubles Down on Southeast Asia

As global powers vie for influence in Southeast Asia, Australia is stepping up, but can it bridge the gap between ambition and reality in its engagement with the region?

Commentary by Kathryn Paik and Gregory B. Poling — June 9, 2025

China’s Power Play Across the Pacific

China's recent actions in the Pacific present an unmistakable message to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands.

Commentary by Charles Edel and Kathryn Paik — April 8, 2025

Audio Briefs

China’s Power Play Across the Pacific

An audio version of “China’s Power Play Across the Pacific,” a new commentary by CSIS's Charles Edel and Kathryn Paik. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Charles Edel and Kathryn Paik — April 8, 2025

Audio Briefs

Enhancing Defense Industrial Cooperation Between Australia and the United States

In a time of deepening geopolitical tensions in the Indo-Pacific, the United States and Australia should strengthen their defense industrial cooperation to deter potential adversaries while integrating and expanding both nations’ defense industrial bases.

Report by Cynthia R. Cook, Charles Edel, Kathryn Paik, Gregory Sanders, Henry H. Carroll, Katy Buda, and John Augé — March 3, 2025