Roundtable Discussion
with Michael Mazza, Senior Director for Research at the Institute of Indo-Pacific Security
Date: Wednesday, 10 June, 2026
Location: Winthrop Hall, The University of Western Australia
Event details
The Perth USAsia Centre is pleased to host a roundtable discussion with Michael Mazza, Senior Director for Research at the Institute of Indo-Pacific Security.
This timely, closed-door discussion will draw on new research on strategic deterrence in the US-Australia relationship and the growing risk of nuclear escalation in the Indo-Pacific.
Nuclear weapons, long a feature of Australia’s strategic environment, are taking on renewed geopolitical salience across the globe. As great power competition intensifies and nuclear weapons regain prominence in regional security dynamics, questions of deterrence, escalations management, and proliferation are becoming increasingly urgent. This roundtable will explore how Australia, in partnership with the United States, can respond to these challenges – strengthening deterrence, reducing vulnerabilities, and contributing to long-term strategic stability in a rapidly evolving and complex security environment.
The discussion will bring together leading perspectives on the future of the US–Australia alliance and consider its role in shaping the regional security order. We hope you will join us for what promises to be a thought-provoking conversation.
Guest speaker
Michael Mazza is the senior director for research at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security. Mike analyzes U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific region, cross-Strait relations, and Asian security issues. He is concurrently a senior non-resident fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute and previously spent 15 years at the American Enterprise Institute, where he contributed to studies on American grand strategy in Asia, US defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific, and Taiwanese defense strategy. His published work includes pieces in The Wall Street Journal Asia, the Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy.
Mike has a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. He previously lived and studied in China
Venue
Winthrop Hall
The University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Hwy, Crawley WA 6009
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Averting A Proliferation Cascade: The U.S.-Australia Alliance And Strategic Deterrence by Michael Mazza
Nuclear weapons, long a feature of Australia’s strategic environment, are taking on new geopolitical salience across the globe. The emerging status quo is one in which there are few limitations on the major powers’ nuclear arsenals. Vertical proliferation is virtually assured and horizontal proliferation is a real risk. Should the U.S. nuclear umbrella become less credible as the Chinese and Russian nuclear arsenals advance, Indo-Pacific countries, including Australia, will perceive growing incentives—or pressures—to develop their own nuclear weapons programs.
Those pressures can be averted. Although the United States alone sets its nuclear strategy, nuclear force structure, and nuclear force posture, Australia and the United States can build on longstanding strategic deterrence cooperation in ways that enhance each country’s security and mitigate proliferation pressures. Unilateral Australian policies can likewise contribute to strategic deterrence. To maintain a stable nuclear balance and a credible American nuclear umbrella, Indo-Pacific allies like Australia will have to step up in new and innovative ways.
Read the report to see an assessment of Australia’s nuclear security environment and key steps that Australia can take to reinforce America’s nuclear umbrella and enhance strategic deterrence.