Japan Deepens India, Australia Defense Ties | Trump Cuts S Korea Drills | Taiwan Talks EP908

The US military has scaled back its annual Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercises with South Korea, following US President Donald Trump's praise on social media of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's supposed "restraint.” Meanwhile, Japanese Defense Minister Koizumi Shinjiro recently visited fellow Quad members India and Australia in an attempt to expand Japan's security network in the region. The reduced UFS exercises and the shifting of US naval assets from the Pacific to the Middle East — including the USS George Washington carrier strike group — have reignited debate over the US's long-term strategic goals. With China and Russia increasing pressure on US allies, are we witnessing a retrenchment or a recalibration? In this episode, we examine the implications of the latest US military shifts, Japan's expanding security partnerships, and what these developments mean for deterrence and alliance cohesion in the Indo-Pacific.

*Recorded on August 20, 2026 at 4pm Taiwan Standard Time

Host/Senior Producer: Yin Khvat
Planner: Miguel Yang
Research Assistant: April Lin
Videographer: Damon Lin

Our guests:

Michael Shoebridge
- Strategic Analysis Australia Founder and Director

Tony Hu
- Former US Department of Defense Senior Director for China, Taiwan and Mongolia

Roger Chifeng Liu
- Taiwan Thinktank DIMEs Center Comprehensive Diplomacy Team Director

Chapters:

00:00:00 – Trump Cuts Drills as Japan Visits Partners
00:02:10 – What Do Scaled-Back Drills Mean ?
00:09:10 – Colby: US Not Withdrawing From Asia
00:15:48 – Japan Boosts Ties With India, Australia
00:21:30 – Tokyo Pressured by Russia, China, NK