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In that case I would agree that France and Austria would never willingly risk conflict with the opposing alliance, especially since its very likely to have Italy in the alliance against them as well. The issue would be the danger of the Berlin-St Petersburg-Rome alliance triggering a war.

I would say that a defensive alliance would have been very practical for Germany and Britain, especially if it negates the German naval challenge which would also boost the German position as there's more resources for elsewhere. Note I'm not talking about Germany building no significant navy...