"The point is if we owned and controlled all our assets we would be rich enough to have a proper world class defense force".
A small and open country cannot expect to defend itself alone. " A defense pact (Commonwealth spelling: defence pact) is a type of treaty or military alliance in which the signatories promise to support each other militarily and to defend each other.[1] Generally, the signatories point out the threats and concretely prepare to respond to it together:
Some examples are ANZUS and NATO. In some countries what foreigners own is balanced by what locals own abroad.