EP104: Australia's AUKUS Skeptics

At the heart of Australia’s security policy lies a crucial question; should Australia, a country situated thousands of kilometres away from the Asian landmass, defend itself by casting out on the Pacific Ocean and pushing militarily towards Asia? As is often said, attack is the best form of defence…

This is certainly the view taken by the signatories of AUKUS- a 2021 security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, under the terms of which Australia will contribute heavily to the United States’ fleet of nuclear submarines- with the strong implication that these submarines will be used to counter growing Chinese military influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Today's guest sees this offensive strategy and unrealistic and mistaken. Instead, he suggests that Australia should take advantage of its geographic isolation and focus on defending its own shores; assume China will come to Australia one day, and build sufficient military capacity to deter their aggression in the meantime. He is, therefore, one of Australia’s AUKUS Skeptics, the namesake for today’s episode.

That guest is Sam Roggeveen, Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Programme, and author of a new book called The Echidna Strategy: Australia’s Search for Power and Peace. The Echidna Strategy is the name Sam gives to his preferred conception of Australian security.