Trump’s adviser proposed expelling Canada from Five Eyes, risking disruption of a historic intelligence-sharing alliance. Canada’s exit could weaken collective security, embolden adversaries, and complicate cyber, counterterrorism, and Indo-Pacific surveillance efforts. For India, this may reduce shared intelligence quality while easing diplomatic tensions with Canada, complicating its deeper alliance ties.
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The US President Donald Trump's senior adviser proposed removal of Canada from the Five Eyes spy group.
It is an intelligence-sharing alliance, originated from secret World War II code-breaking cooperation between British and American intelligence agencies, with the formal agreement established in 1946 through the UKUSA Agreement.
Members: United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom.
They share intelligence, especially signals intelligence (SIGINT), to enhance collective security and address global threats including terrorism, cyber attacks, and geopolitical challenges.
They run global surveillance systems such as ECHELON and have created several cooperative surveillance programs such as PRISM, XKeyscore, and Tempora.
USA proposal to expel Canada from the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance.
The rationale to expel Canada is part of wider tensions in the US-Canada relationship under President Trump. President Trump has made repeated criticisms of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and applied economic sanctions such as tariffs.
The proposal fits Trump's America First agenda, which has challenged conventional alliances.
How might Canada's potential exit affect the alliance?
Canada's withdrawal would be seen as a break in the alliance, and would encourage rivals such as China and Russia.
Experts raised concern that disrupting the Five Eyes would compromise collaborative efforts on cyber threats, counterterrorism, and tracking Chinese military activity in the Indo-Pacific.
The alliance has been referred to as "by far the most successful intelligence-sharing arrangement in world history," and its collapse would have considerable security implications.
Potential Impact for India if Canada exits the Five Eyes
For India, the implications are mixed. A weakened Five Eyes might reduce the quality of intelligence sharing India receives through its growing ties with alliance members. However, Canada has used Five Eyes intelligence to accuse India of involvement in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar case, so Canada's removal could potentially reduce tensions in India-Canada relations.
New Delhi has been working toward closer intelligence collaboration with Five Eyes members, and a fractured alliance might complicate these efforts.
India has been developing closer intelligence links with Five Eyes members.
There have been discussions about potentially expanding the alliance to include India, Israel, Singapore, South Korea, and Japan.
India's strategic interests align with the Five Eyes in countering China's influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
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PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Consider the following countries:
How many of the following are the members of the Five Eyes alliance? A) Only two B) Only three C) Only four D) All five Answer: D Explanation: The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence partnership of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. |
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