Episode 50: With friends like this...& Why spend real money on defence when you can just seem to?

Marcus is back from Australia's croc-filled Outback. He catches up with Michael on global events: America's end to a Baltic states security initiative and the Trump Administrations' prep work for a Xi-Trump meeting - a Tik Tok half deal & pauses to a $400m US military aid package for Taiwan. They go Premier Allan's extraordinary connection of Victoria to Beijing's education system, and look into recent Australian Defence announcements on Anduril's Ghost Shark & the even more elusive Henderson Maritime Precinct. King Charles' odd early commissioning of the UK's 6th Astute class sub after 12 years of construction rounds out this 50th Anniversary Episode.