LATIKA BOURKE: Pentagon’s MAGA-style push on AUKUS and defence spending may backfire in Indo-Pacific

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Elbridge Colby is trying to use Trump’s MAGA tough talk strategy to push Australia and Indo-Pacific allies to ramp up military spending. Elbridge Colby is trying to use Trump’s MAGA tough talk strategy to push Australia and Indo-Pacific allies to ramp up military spending. Credit: Michael Brochstein / Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA Elbridge Colby, the man reviewing AUKUS inside the Pentagon, thinks he can replicate MAGA’s success in scolding, berating and bullying Europe into lifting defence spending in Australia and the Indo-Pacific. But his cut-and-paste approach may not only fail, but backfire. This is because his hectoring approach fails to recalibrate...