'Australia has and continues to invest in a Defence Force that allows it to coerce others. This is not because Australia’s defence policy is duplicitous or nefarious, but rather that coercion and deterrence theories are inextricably linked. Defence policy cannot choose between figurative threatening spears and protective shields.'

This article by Nick Brown, published by our friends and partners at the Australian Army Research Centre, is the first in a series that will examine the role of deterrence as part of Australia’s strategic defence posture within the Indo-Pacific region.