Why Australia bet the house on lasting U.S. power in Asia

New York Times News Analysis: When Scott Morrison became Australia’s prime minister three years ago, he insisted that the country could maintain close ties with China, its largest trading partner, while working with the United States, its main security ally. “Australia doesn’t have to choose,” he said in one of his first foreign policy speeches. On Thursday, Australia effectively chose. Following years of sharply deteriorating relations with Beijing, Australia announced a new defense agreement in which the United States and Britain would help it deploy nuclear-powered submarines, a major advance in Australian military strength.