Report
Grey zone games: Lessons from the 2025 AJUS simulation

Each year since 2023, the United States Studies Centre (USSC) has convened a ‘Strategy Simu­lation’ in which senior Australian, Japanese, and U.S. (AJUS) experts engage with a simulat­ed strategic crisis in the Indo-Pacific. Working in national teams, AJUS experts draft policy recommendations for their respective polit­ical leaderships (simulated by a control team) in responding to the evolving crisis, negotiat­ing both internally and trilaterally in shap­ing national policy responses. The Strategy Simulation provides an opportunity to refine and ‘stress test’ AJUS trilateral approaches to regional strategy while tracking how AJUS trilateral strategic dynamics are evolving in response to changes in the Indo-Pacific strate­gic environment.
 
The 2025 Strategy Simulation was held in Syd­ney in September and involved senior Australi­an, Japanese, and US foreign policy and defence experts, including former senior government officials, former flag officers, and academic and think tank experts.