How can smart defence strategies and multilateral diplomacy avoid a US-China war in Asia - for example over Taiwan? Have American and Australian advocates of war with China over Taiwan really thought about the realities of a war with China? How should middle powers - like Australia, Indonesia and the ASEAN nations - adapt their defence and foreign policies to the new realities of war, Asian strengths and US power today?

My conversation with Sam Roggeveen about his book The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace asked these fundamental questions that concern everyone around the world. What would a war with China really be like, and how can defence - the echidna strategy - and some creative diplomacy avoid a US-China war in Asia.Our conversation covered Australian defence and foreign policy, AUKUS and nuclear submarines, the upcoming Australia-ASEAN meeting in Melbourne (March 2024), China, Indonesia, regional order in Asia and the West Pacific, lessons of the Ukraine war, & the USA.Is the USA becoming just a normal great power, and what does that mean for other countries all around the world?A big thank you to Sam Roggeveen, who is the Director, International Security at the Lowy InstituteLinks to Sam's book, The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace (2023) ▼ ▽ JOIN THE BURNING ARCHIVE - SEE THE WORLD MORE CLEARLY WITH QUALITY WORLD HISTORYJoin my free weekly newsletter to receive insights from world history and reflections on the intersection of culture, history and geopolitics. ✉️ Signup is free: https://jeffrich.substack.com✉️ Paid subscribers receive bonus content weekly: ▼ ▽ SEE THE WORLD MORE CLEARLY WITH MY COURSESWorld History Explorers and all my courses https://courses.jeffrichwriter.com/