Any moment now, Donald Trump might cancel AUKUS, the massive defence agreement which among other things would see Australia buying eight nuclear-powered submarines. AUKUS has become the big thing in Australia’s defence procurement, but do we need it? Sam Roggeveen thinks not, and he’s our guest today.
Sam is director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program. In former life he was an intelligence analyst for the Office of National Assessments, now the Office of National Assessments. And he’s the author of The Echidna Strategy: Australia’s Search for Power and Peace.
In this episode we discuss the two competing schools of thought on defence policy, the defence of Australia school versus the forward defence school. We talk about what the actual threats from China might be. We look at what the echidna strategy might look like in practice. And much more.
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