The 30th round of the Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations will soon take place at a time of major global disruption and unprecedented domestic pressure, accelerated by the spread of COVID-19. It is a critical moment for the Australia-US alliance to provide strong and collaborative regional leadership in the Indo-Pacific.

Bolstering the resilience of our neighbourhood should be at the top of the policy agenda, spanning health security and economic development to the balance of military power and our shared defences against disinformation and cyberattack. Although the United States is mired in a pandemic-fuelled health crisis, and while Australia is only tentatively recovering from COVID-19’s first wave, our shared interests in fostering a healthy, stable and resilient Indo-Pacific cannot be postponed and must be wholeheartedly embraced at AUSMIN 2020.

To discuss these issues, USSC hosted a webinar on our latest report Bolstering Resilience in the Indo-Pacific: Policy Options for AUSMIN After COVID-19, featuring authors Director of Foreign Policy and Defence Ashley Townshend, Research Fellow Brendan Thomas-Noone, Research Associate Matilda Steward of the United States Studies Centre, and Dr Jeffrey Wilson, Research Director at the Perth USAsia Centre in conversation with Perth USAC CEO Gordon Flake.