With the Biden Administration in Washington committed to both the Indo-Pacific and the value of alliances — and 2021 marking the 70th anniversary of the ANZUS Treaty — this publication advances an agenda for the U.S/Australia alliance at this critical time.

The swearing-in of Joe Biden as 46th President of the United States will signal a reset in the strategic relationship between Australia and its US partner. In this discussion paper, Allan Behm argues that Australia will need to do its own thinking, reinvesting in both regional institutions and regional coalition-building.

The United States and Australia need to bolster their contributions to deterrence and defence in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific. This will require updating and future-proofing the US-Australia alliance so that it keeps up with the pace, scale and intensity of the multidimensional challenges that China is posing the regional order.

This paper argues that rather than continue the debate about Australia’s position on its ANZUS obligations should the United States invoke the treaty in a Taiwan conflict, Australia should work with other regional powers to advocate for more robust risk avoidance and crisis management mechanisms.

This paper argues that democracy promotion ought to be an essential component of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy — a strategy that is being promoted by the United States, Australia, Japan and, increasingly, India, albeit with national differences in approaches and emphasis.