07 July 2015

Pentagon Appoints Abraham Denmark, NBR Senior Vice President, as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia

Important, positive news from the National Bureau of Asian Research:

Abraham Denmark

Abraham M. Denmark

The U.S. Office of the Secretary of Defense has appointed Abraham Denmark, Senior Vice President of Political and Security Affairs and External Relations at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), to the position of United States Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia. Mr. Denmark replaces former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia David Helvey.

“The Pentagon is gaining an excellent new Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for East Asia in Abraham Denmark,” said Admiral Dennis Blair, member of the NBR Board of Directors and CEO of Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. “I have worked closely with Mr. Denmark over the past several years, and I can say wholeheartedly that he has the skills and knowledge to be a key player in modernizing U.S. alliances and partnerships in East Asia.”

Mr. Denmark has significant experience both inside and outside government. He previously served in the Pentagon as Country Director for China Affairs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Before moving to NBR, Mr. Denmark served as a fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He has provided testimony at congressional hearings and is widely published, having authored several book chapters and reports on U.S. strategy toward the Asia-Pacific region and the global commons.

Mr. Denmark also serves as a Senior Advisor at the Center for Naval Analyses and is on the Advisory Council of the Emerging Science and Technology Policy Centre. He is a member of the National Committee on United States-China Relations, the U.S. Naval Institute, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He has received several awards and was named a 21st Century Leader by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy.

‘Abraham Denmark has been a remarkable colleague, scholar, leader, and friend at The National Bureau of Asian Research,” said NBR President Richard Ellings. “Given Mr. Denmark’s leadership with policymakers across East Asia, he is well suited to assist Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter in supporting the U.S. rebalance to Asia. He will provide the Pentagon with valuable insight, deep experience, an in-depth understanding of U.S.-Asia relations, and great dedication. All of us in the Asia policy community wish him tremendous success.”

NBR’s Washington, DC office will be in good hands under the leadership of Roy Kamphausen, Senior Vice President for Research:

Roy D. Kamphausen is Senior Vice President for Research and Director of the Washington, D.C., office at NBR. Mr. Kamphausen has provided senior leadership to NBR for years, and previously served as Senior Advisor and Senior Vice President for Political and Security Affairs.

Prior to joining NBR, Mr. Kamphausen served as a U.S. Army officer. As a China Foreign Area Officer, his career included assignments as China policy director in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, China strategist for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and as a military attache at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.

Mr. Kamphausen’s areas of professional expertise include China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), U.S.-China defense relations, U.S. defense and security policy toward Asia, and East Asian security issues. He has presented lectures on these topics throughout the United States, Asia and Europe.

Mr. Kamphausen’s NBR publications include the last eight volumes from the annual PLA Conference, published by the U.S. Army War College, including Assessing the People’s Liberation Army in the Hu Jintao Era, edited by Roy Kamphausen, David Lai, and Travis Tanner (Strategic Studies Institute, 2014). He also authored “China’s Land Forces: New Priorities and Capabilities” in Strategic Asia 2012-13: China’s Military Challenge (edited by Ashley Tellis and Travis Tanner, October 2012). Mr. Kamphausen was deputy director of the IP Commission in 2012 and an author of the Commission’s Report on the Theft of American Intellectual Property.

Mr. Kamphausen is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and is a regular lecturer at leading U.S. military institutions, including the United States Military Academy (West Point), the National Defense University, and Army War College. He testifies regularly before Congress and consults with the U.S. Department of Defense. His analysis appears regularly in major international media, including Foreign Policy, Financial Times, New York Times, National Public Radio, Newsweek, and others.

Mr. Kamphausen holds a BA in Political Science from Wheaton College and an MA in International Affairs from Columbia University. He studied Chinese at both the Defense Language Institute and Beijing’s Capital Normal University. He is a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the Asia Society, and the Council for Security and Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific (CSCAP). He is married to Arminda and they have three children—Abigail, Hudson, and Delaney.