By Binoy Kampmark Of the three countries involved in AUKUS, that most draining, useless and even pernicious of security pacts, Australia has been the only country indifferent, even scoffing, about the need for an inquiry into its merits. Unsurprisingly, both the US and UK inquiries have found much to merit the project – Australian taxpayer money has sluiced and soothed …

By Binoy Kampmark Australia’s obsequiousness before US power was again on show at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a security forum convened by the International Institute for Strategic Studies to discuss matters relevant to the Indo-Pacific. What was clear was that the US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth was in a fighting mood. “America is proud to be back in the Indo-Pacific …