A critique of middle power strategy shows why we need it

This article reports a direct US policy signal that the Trump administration views middle-power defence cooperation—which Australia is actively pursuing with Japan and others—as wasteful distraction. The article explicitly names Australia's enhanced defence cooperation with Japan as a middle-power strategy response to perceived US unreliability, framing it as a coping strategy for abandonment risk. The statement that US partners 'can no longer take [US] engagement for granted' directly weakens the geopolitical foundation of AUKUS and Australia's reliance on Pillar 7 (Alliance) as a hedge against Chinese power.