Prof. Hugh White (ANU) joins host Amy Mullins for a chat about all things AUKUS – from nuclear submarines to geopolitics and public spending.

Breaking down his recent essay for Australian Foreign Affairs, ‘Fatal Shores: AUKUS is a grave mistake’, Hugh provides clarity around the security pact between Australia, the UK, and the United States – and whether AUKUS will actually deliver what the Australian government says it will. Does Australia really need nuclear-powered submarines? Will Australia receive increased technology and capability sharing from its allies? And how will AUKUS affect Australia’s relationship with its closest regional neighbours? Underpinning all of this is the reluctance of Australian governments to acknowledge its strategic and geopolitical reality – that the United States will not be the sole global superpower of the 21st century and that China will inevitably rival its presence globally and in the Indo-Pacific.

Hugh White is Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the Australian National University and author of The China Choice: Why America Should Share Power.

Photo credit: ANU