Integrated deterrence in the Indo-Pacific: Advancing the Australia-United States alliance

Amid sharpening strategic competition with China in the Indo-Pacific, the Biden administration has proposed the concept of ‘integrated deterrence’ as a cornerstone for US defence strategy. By collaborating more closely with US allies and partners, and by more effectively combining military and non-military instruments of national power, Washington hopes this new approach will deter Beijing’s use of coercion across a wide spectrum of competition.

But what exactly does ‘integrated deterrence’ mean? Is it really new? How does it intersect with ongoing efforts to increase interoperability among US allies and partners? And what role is there for the Australia-US alliance to bring integrated deterrence into being in the Indo-Pacific?

To discuss these issues, the United States Studies Centre (USSC) and Pacific Forum hosted the launch of “Integrated deterrence in the Indo-Pacific: Advancing the Australia-United States alliance", a new policy brief by Jane Hardy, Visiting Senior Fellow with the USSC and a former Australian Consul-General in Hawaii. Joining her for this in-conversation webinar was Ashley Townshend, Director of Foreign Policy and Defence at USSC, and David Santoro, President of Pacific Forum, both founding convenors and co-chairs of the Track 1.5 US-Australia Indo-Pacific Deterrence Dialogue.

This activity was supported by the Australian Government through a grant by the Australian Department of Defence. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Australian government or the Australian Department of Defence.

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