We have to start with some words about the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and what that might mean for Australia. It almost certainly now means the re-election of someone who is profoundly pro-Russian, anti-European and with an ambivalent attitude towards the Asia-Pacific region. Australian politicians are so in thrall of the US that they constantly drone on about shared values, which are actually few and far between. The US remains our strongest security partner but we will have to do more for ourselves – after all the US previously withdrew from Asia as part of the Guam doctrine in the early 1970s. Related to this, last week there was a very important South Korea – Australia defence forum in Canberra. This was an initiative from the ROK and included offers made at Ministerial level for cooperation on cyber, uninhabited systems – and a remarkable initiative to co-develop and jointly fund a space port. Defence officials should be on their way to Seoul right now to follow up on this.

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