In an early scene of the hit musical Hamilton, the eponymous founding father and three friends

meet in a tavern to declare their loyalty to the revolution.

They grow progressively more drunk on beer and dreams of overthrowing the British.

One of the drinking fellows, and a main character in this great tale of American independence,

is, in fact, French.

La faillette, based on the real-life revolutionary marquee, is an emblem of France's crucial

role in America's fight for sovereignty, a role that earned it the title of the U.S.'s

oldest ally.

But the ties of this historical alliance are strained after the French reacted furiously

to America's security pact with Australia and the UK, awkwardly acronymED AUKUS.

As the Pentagon and the State Department tilt their focus away from mainland Europe, was

provoking French air worth it.

This is Czechs and Balance.

I'm John Prado, the economist's U.S. editor, each week we take one big theme shaping American

politics and explore it in depth.

Today, why is AUKUS such a big deal?

Occasionally, you can see big shifts in foreign policy happened right before your eyes.

The unveiling last week of the trilateral defence pact between Australia and the UK and

the United States provides one of those rare occasions.

Its America's biggest demonstration yet, of a determination to counter what it sees as

a grown threat from China.

What does AUKUS tell us about the U.S. government's changing priorities?

...