Peter Layton clarifies a little known fact about the ANZUS treaty: unlike NATO, it does not require a signatory to respond militarily if another signatory is threatened; it only requires the US to consult with us in times of crisis. For this reason Australian policy towards ANZUS has been defined by reciprocity, which has seen us regularly engaged alongside the US. With the US extending the NATO security guarantee to states like Latvia and the Balkans, Layton argues it is time for Australia to seek the same level of protection