Through Aukus, our defence allies Australia, the US and UK have ditched us, and also other allies in the Pacific, Japan and France. The agreement is unnecessarily provocative to China, possibly foolhardy in its nuclear proliferation. It is not clear what Australia achieves by positioning nuclear submarines in the South China Sea, a long way from home.

The shift in defence posture from 'Defence of Australia' to 'Forward Defence' is presumably intended to contain Chinese ships behind a line that extends from the Kamchatka Peninsula to Singapore. China's military build-up and irresponsible threats to Taiwan are warning bells. But China has not threatened to invade Australia.

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping and President Putin have adopted foreign policies of short-term self-interest, getting your way by being bigger and meaner than your rivals, a 19th century approach that ended in global war and immiseration. Xi's trip to Moscow this week was an example of old-style projection of power. His ‘peace plan’ advocates an end to Western sanctions without requiring Russia to withdraw from Ukrainian territory. China does not care how many Ukrainian cities are destroyed or war crimes committed; it cares only that this keeps Russia and its cheap oil close.

In response, Aukus is not modelling moral behaviour, but instead heading towards the same dangerous 'might is right' foreign policy of threats and dares.

Read Josie's column on Australia's AUKUS agreement to buy US nuclear submarines.