Last week, the United States, United Kingdom and Australia announced a new defence and security partnership, dubbed AUKUS, which is intended to present a unified front toward an increasingly aggressive China, and demonstrate to other countries that the U.S. intends to remain engaged in the Asia-Pacific region for decades to come. Not only was Canada not included in the agreement, but the federal government seemed to be completely blind-sided by the announcement — a reflection of our diminished stature on the world stage.
