Five Eyes Alliance buckles under Trump’s overbearing diplomacy

The Five Eyes Crumbles as Trump detonates the seal

The Five Eyes (FVEY), a security alliance of five English-speaking nations—the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—has faced a major crisis. The alliance, which has served as the eyes and ears of the post-war liberal bloc, is now experiencing fractures as UK and Canadian leaders openly oppose U.S. President Donald Trump’s isolationist and aggressive foreign policies. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the secret intelligence-sharing agreement between the U.S. and UK, the foundation of the Five Eyes. Instead of celebrating eight decades of alliance, the partners now worry about its collapse.

The conflict between the U.S. and UK, the founding members and core axis of the Five Eyes, has escalated uncontrollably this year. On the 22nd, Trump stated in a Fox News interview regarding NATO forces in the Afghanistan War (2001–2021), “We never needed them. They were slightly detached from the frontlines.” This remark infuriated the UK, which suffered the second-highest casualties after the U.S., with 457 deaths. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer immediately condemned it as “insulting and appalling,” while Prince Harry, a former Afghanistan-deployed helicopter pilot, criticized, “Sacrifices should be spoken of with respect.” As backlash grew, Trump posted on Truth Social on the 24th, “I love the British military. They were great,” but the damage was done.

The UK had already begun distancing itself psychologically and practically from Trump’s second term. Recently, it judged the U.S. military operation against Caribbean drug trafficking as having “potential violations of international law” and suspended sharing classified intelligence with the U.S. Trump’s mocking remarks further inflamed tensions.

Canada, another Five Eyes member and the U.S.’s neighbor, is also heading toward a breakdown in relations with Trump. After Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney visited China from the 13th to the 17th and announced expanded economic cooperation with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Trump retaliated with hostile measures targeting Canada. On the 24th, he posted on Truth Social, referring to Carney as the U.S.’s “governor,” “If Governor Carney turns Canada into a Chinese export hub for the U.S., I will immediately impose a 100% tariff on all products.” He repeated his derogatory rhetoric, treating Canada as the U.S.’s “51st state.”

Trump also withdrew Canada’s invitation to the “Board of Peace,” established to stabilize and rebuild after the Israel-Hamas war ceasefire. Canada no longer views the U.S. as an ally or neighbor. On the 21st, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Carney targeted Trump, stating, “Canada prospers not because of the U.S., but because it is Canadian.” Defining the current international situation as a “rupture,” he added, “Nostalgia for the past cannot be a strategy. Middle powers must unite. If we don’t sit at the table, we’ll end up on the menu.” This is interpreted as urging anti-Trump solidarity and abandoning the U.S.-led order.

Simultaneous conflicts between the U.S. and UK, and the U.S. and Canada, have pushed the Five Eyes to its greatest crisis since its formation. While disagreements among members have occurred before, tensions have never escalated to this level. The Five Eyes has been perceived as a “blood alliance” unmatched by other international security blocs.

The UK and U.S., who fought together in World War II, recognized the need for core intelligence sharing post-war and signed the 1946 secret intelligence agreement. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—former British Commonwealth members—joined sequentially, solidifying the five-nation framework in 1956. The alliance’s cooperation level differed from other security blocs due to shared ethnicity (Anglo-Saxon), language (English), religion (Christianity), and political systems (democracy).

A prime example is the joint establishment and operation of “Echelon,” a global intelligence surveillance network to monitor communist blocs during the Cold War. Despite repeated U.S. political proposals to include South Korea and Japan in the Five Eyes to counterbalance China, they never materialized. Now, this blood alliance is shaking to its roots just one year into Trump’s second term.

While conflicts within NATO centered on “cost” (defense spending), the Five Eyes crisis reflects a collapse of “trust” among blood brothers. Even the U.S.’s top allies can no longer tolerate Trump’s “transactional diplomacy” and “insulting diplomacy,” diverging toward self-preservation.

☞Five Eyes (FVEY)

A security alliance involving the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Originating from the 1946 U.S.-UK secret intelligence agreement to counter Soviet and communist states during the Cold War, the remaining three nations joined sequentially, formalizing the five-nation system in 1956. Five Eyes members are treated as the U.S.’s top allies, sharing global intelligence collected through “Echelon,” the world’s largest communications surveillance system.

Credit: Park Kook-hee, Kim Ji-won, msn.com