This is John Batcheter, conversation about Aukas with my good colleague Gregory Coppley of Defense and Foreign Affairs.

Aukas comes under review for strategic, for political, and for technical reasons.

I want to concentrate on the strategic. for political and for technical reasons.

I want to concentrate on the strategic.

Gregory Koppley comments on the future,

Arkansas for the balance of the 21st century.

It is impossible to presume now what the 21st century will look like

but it won't look like the status quo ante. There will be changes in

confrontations and alliances.

Gregory makes the point along with his colleague that it is not good planning to assume

that the U.S. will have a dominant position in the end of Pacific for the balance of the century.

And there are reasons to believe that the adversaries will not continue to be the People's

Republic of China.

There are other possibilities.

Gregory speaks to both those matters

when we look out for Aukas strategically

into the 21st century. Here's Gregory

Koppley. That's absolutely correct. I know Hugh, he,

white, he is influential and he's very, very good and he's always raised the question of okay how much do we depend on the United States

and how much do we how much do we expect the United States to do for Australia.

So yes, you worried about Australia being tacitly committed

to fighting alongside the US in a future war with China.

...