AUKUS

The biggest current question facing Australia may not be whether it can trust the U.S., but whether it can have the confidence to trust itself.

At the ninth edition of the Defense Policy Talks, they called for collaboration between their defense industries in the fields of defense science and technology.

Thus far, Australian leaders seem unable to address the implications of the fact that U.S. values and interests may in fact no longer be congruent with Australia’s own.

Australia has so far been content to bend and gently adjust to the Trump 2.0 whirlwind. It will inevitably have to decide where to draw the line.

The ASIO chief’s Annual Threat Assessment painted a dark picture of the next five years, warning of “more security surprises” in Australia.

The challenge is to make a compelling case for Trump to support and endorse these partnerships.

Canberra may hope that if Trump and his team don’t know Australia exists, then the next four years might go a little smoother. But there's a $230 billion problem.

Trump's reelection constitutes crisis time for AUKUS.

The Albanese government declined to join its AUKUS partners in advancing the nuclear energy industry, sparking criticism from the opposition. 

Indo-Pacific minilateral networking presents both opportunities and challenges to the wider regional architecture.

Despite recent talk, Japan is unlikely to join the security partnership anytime soon.

Canberra needs to win public support and maintain political unity, while making strategic calculations that factor in a realizable Plan B.