Australia's Evolving Defense Strategy

This week, Mike and Jude are joined by Professor Peter Dean,
Director of Foreign Policy and Defense at the United States Studies
Centre at the University of Sydney, and the principal drafter of
the Australian government’s recent Defence Strategic Review, to
discuss developments in Australia’s defense planning.  
The conversation begins with a discussion of the Defence Strategic
Review and the significant shift in Australia's strategic outlook
that it represents. Next, Mike, Jude and Peter discuss how the
perceived sustainability of U.S. engagement in the region factors
into Australian defense planning. They examine developments in
Chinese military capabilities that Canberra is watching closely,
and what responses might be demanded. They then consider the
complications of executing a cultural transformation in Australia’s
defense forces and building national resilience. After turning
briefly to Australia’s relationship with Taiwan and potential
reactions to a contingency in and around the Taiwan Strait, they
conclude with a discussion of the evolving U.S.-Australia alliance
and how its further development can underpin stability in the
Indo-Pacific region.