The wedge-tailed eagle patrols territories of up to a hundred square kilometres by riding thermals it did not create. It spends most of its energy budget on observation, not pursuit, and it commits to a strike only when geometry favours it.
Patience as posture
Middle powers in the Indo-Pacific face the same energy problem: they cannot be everywhere, so surveillance and positioning have to substitute for mass. The eagle's answer — altitude, patience, and a late, decisive commitment — is a better metaphor for Australian strategy than most of the ones borrowed from bigger militaries.