Should Australia be worried about Britain’s current debate over the future of its defence posture and its impact on AUKUS? After all, European security continues to deteriorate as the war in Ukraine does not seem to have an end in sight, and President-elect Donald Trump and his closest political allies have consistently made the point that Europeans – and certainly Britain – will have to do more to ensure the continent’s stability.

That is not a trifling question as balancing the demands of British defence is proving to be a challenging task. The team working on the defence review, Britain’s equivalent to Australia’s Defence Strategic Review, have to strike a balance between immediate demands and long-term investments.