Indo-Pacific Explainer: What is derisking?
The COVID pandemic highlighted the problems that can emerge from relying on globalised supply chains when these supply chains are disrupted by international events. For example, in Australia, COVID-related supply chain disruptions reduced the access to medicine because medicine was imported rather than produced domestically. Similarly, China now dominates supply chains for key minerals that are required to produce everyday products (from microwaves to smartphones and TVs). As China has exploited this dominance and showed its willingness to cut off supplies, Australia and its partners have sought to reduce dependencies on China.