In this episode, Veerle is joined by Ashley Townshend, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney and Founding Convenor and Co-chair of the US-Australia Indo-Pacific Deterrence Dialogue. Against a backdrop of rising Chinese assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and a perception that the US can no longer guarantee regional stability on its own, Australia took the bold decision to embark on an ambitious defence partnership with the US and UK, to France’s fury. France’s Ambassador to Australia has yet to return but, while Canberra seeks to rebuild its partnership with Paris, it has bigger fish to fry.