Message from CEO Dr Michael Green

September is a month of anniversaries in the US-Australia relationship. From the 75th anniversary of the signing of the ANZUS Treaty, to 25 years since I evacuated the White House Executive Office Building for the terror attacks of 9/11, to the fifth anniversary of the surprise AUKUS announcement — each moment is a cause for reflection. These anniversaries hit differently in a year marked by significant upheaval, active wars and the economic strain they have wrought. At the United States Studies Centre (USSC), we wanted to use these milestones as opportunities to analyse, evaluate and strategise about what this means for both the Australia-US relationship and other alliances and partnerships in the region.

Last week we held our fourth annual Sydney International Strategy Forum (SISF). The theme for this year was: Alliances in an age of disorder. Experts from the United States, Japan, Taiwan and Australia joined us to discuss the changing role of the United States in the world and what this means. Former INDOPACOM Commander Adm. John Aquilino (Ret’d) warned that China’s industrial base is “on a wartime footing” and with the aim to “change the current world order.” Experts agreed that the global threat level is rising and emphasised the need to work together, both with and without the United States. In a SISF first, former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Varghese AO debated former Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Mike Pezzullo about whether Australia needs a plan B to ANZUS. Both conceded that they would not view trust in the United States alone to come to Australia’s aid as the optimal Plan A.

This emphasis on working with US allies and partners continues to be a central focus of the USSC. In this month alone, we hosted dialogues and discussions with experts from Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Tibet and the United States. And this week we kicked off the first dialogue in our CRINKs project. Headed by USSC Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Dr Lavina Lee, we convened experts from the Philippines, Singapore, the United States and Australia to better understand the growing ties between China, Russia, Iran and North Korea and what these changing dynamics mean for countries in the Indo-Pacific. Stay tuned for a series of publications with views from around the region.

With the US Midterm elections just over a month away, our team is actively tracking key races with a view to what the make-up of the new Congress will mean for Australia. We hope you can join us for some of our upcoming Midterms events.

Thank you for your continued support of the work of the Centre. A year like 2026 makes it abundantly clear why analysis, insights and solutions regarding the United States and its alliance relationships are so important.

News

Sydney International Strategy Forum 2026

A high-calibre group of speakers from the United States, Japan, Taiwan and Australia joined us for the fourth annual Sydney International Strategy Forum: Alliances in an age of disorder. Across the day, speakers analysed and debated the status of US alliances and partnerships and the US role in the world. Sessions included:

• America debates the world
• Are adversaries gaining the initiative?
• Are alliances and partnerships holding?
• Are we ready for the big shocks?
• The Alliance at 75: Does Australia need a Plan B?
• Does Australia have the right strategic settings to lead in this new era?

If you missed out, videos will soon be available on the USSC YouTube channel, and audio recordings will be shared on the USSC Live podcast.

CRINKs and the Indo-Pacific

This week, the Foreign Policy and Defence team held the first event in a major project focused on the CRINKs — China, Russia, Iran and North Korea — and what their increased coordination means for the Indo-Pacific. Last night, we hosted a public event featuring Hudson Institute Senior Fellow, Dr Aparna Pande; University of the Philippines Professor Herman Joseph Kraft; National University of Singapore Associate Professor, Dr Ja Ian Chong; and United States Studies Centre Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Program, Dr Lavina Lee, in conversation with Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Matthew Knott. And today, we convened experts from around the Indo-Pacific to take a deep dive into what the changing CRINKs relationships mean and how lessons from Ukraine can be applied to the Indo-Pacific. This project will include a series of reports taking a look at the CRINKs as a whole as well as key bilateral relationships within the CRINKs. Make sure you are subscribed to USSC Research Alerts so you will be the first to know when the reports are released.

Special event looks at Tibet on the global stage

A packed room joined us for the special event Tibet at the epicentre: Geopolitics, religion and climate security. Tibet Policy Institute Senior Research Fellow Dr Tenzin Desal, UTS Associate Professor in China Studies Dr Feng Chongyi and La Trobe Asia Director Dr Ruth Gamble joined United States Studies Centre CEO Dr Michael Green for a conversation about Tibet’s geopolitical significance in the 21^st Century and what Tibet’s political future means for religious freedom and international law around the world. The ABC Big Ideas team recorded the event to share on the program later this year.

Report launch looks at ways to derisk rare earths from China

Midweek, we hosted a webinar to launch Dr Naoise McDonagh’s (MBA Director and Senior Lecturer in Geopolitics and International Business at the School of Business and Law at Edith Cowan University) report on solutions to bolster the economic security of the rare earth permanent magnet supply chain. During the webinar, along with Genna Lehman, USSC Non-Resident Fellow in Economic Security and Sir Roland Wilson Pat Turner Scholar, and USSC Director of Economic Security, Hayley Channer, Dr McDonagh unpacked a series of questions on what Australia and its allies and partners have done to derisk the world’s rare earth supply chains, what efforts have been successful, what more needs to be done and what a coordinated allied approach might look like. Dr Naoise McDonagh's report The missing market: Why US and allies’ rare earth derisking needs a demand-side strategy is now available to read and download. 

Annual Trilateral Strategy Simulation

At the end of September, USSC hosted the fourth annual Australia-Japan-US trilateral strategy simulation. Bringing together some of the most experienced national security experts in Australia, Japan and the United States, the game tested how these allies would coordinate in the event of various contingencies in the Indo-Pacific.

Second professional development webinar for teachers looks at ChatGPT and the pushback against expertise

We hosted our third of four webinars in the Professional Development for Teachers webinar series. This month’s event: Private life, public world: what privacy means in 2026, looked at emerging privacy issues, from smart glasses to data breaches. USSC Director of Strategic Technologies Olivia Shen and USSC Senior Lecturer in American Studies Dr Aaron Nyerges joined USSC Director of Engagement and Impact Mari Koeck for a discussion of what these issues mean for students and also how privacy is a real-world HSIE issue.

Our next professional development webinar for teachers is happening on 5 November.

WITA Workshop focuses on China

We hosted our third Women in the Alliance (WITA) Workshop for the year last week. Former Under Secretary of the US Navy Dr Janine Davidson, Director of the University of Texas’ Asia Policy Program Dr Sheena Chestnut Greitens and USSC Director of Economic Security Hayley Channer spoke with the 2026 WITA cohort about how the United States and Australia craft China policy.

AUKUS anniversary

Five years after the announcement of AUKUS, USSC experts weighed in with reflections on the agreement, it’s progress to date and expectations for the decades ahead. Publications include:

• OP-ED — The Australian | AUKUS isn’t a mistake, it’s a strategic necessity by Dr Lavina Lee
• OP-ED — The Conversation | Five years into AUKUS, what do we have to show for it? We’ve measured progress on three key metrics by Tom Corben and Esther Soulard
• OP-ED — The Diplomat | What Has AUKUS Pillar II Achieved Over 5 Years? by Kester Abbott and Tara Luckock
• PODCAST — USSC | AUKUS at five: Full steam ahead? featuring Prof. Peter Dean, Dr Zack Cooper and Mari Koeck

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