The Defence Strategic Review recognises that diplomacy, development and defence will have to work together to meet Australia's security needs in a period of heightened global uncertainty and increasing contestation in the Pacific. This recognises that the benefits of the international rules-based order that has prevailed since the end of WWII are not self-evident to all in the region.

The fact that most countries in the Pacific have repeatedly said they do not want to "choose sides" in the competition for global strategic primacy between the US and China is by now well understood in Canberra. But this is a lesson whose gristle is getting stuck in the teeth of the US as it seeks to rally support to retain the balance of power in our region, using the narrative of shared democratic values and human rights.