Five Eyes Alliance: Context and Overview

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has recently engaged the Five Eyes alliance—comprising the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand—in response to allegations regarding the involvement of Indian government agents in the assassination of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June 2023.

What is Five Eyes Alliance?

• Formation and Historical Background: The Five Eyes alliance traces its origins back to the aftermath of World War II.
• Initially established through the UKUSA Agreement of 1946, the alliance was created to enhance cooperation in signals intelligence (SIGINT) among its members.
• The United Kingdom and the United States were the founding nations, with Canada, Australia, and New Zealand joining the network in the 1950s.
• This coalition was initially focused on monitoring the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
• Membership and Structure: The alliance consists of five core member countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
  • While Norway, Denmark, and West Germany were temporarily included during the 1950s, the current membership solidified by 1955 remains unchanged.
  • Each member country contributes its intelligence capabilities, including human intelligence (HUMINT) and geospatial intelligence (GEOINT), facilitating a comprehensive intelligence-sharing framework.
• Operational Mechanisms: The Five Eyes alliance operates through both formal and informal agreements among its intelligence agencies, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the U.S. and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in Canada.
  • The alliance is designed to provide a strategic advantage to its members by sharing a wide array of intelligence, including SIGINT, security assessments, and defense-related information.
  • Intelligence-sharing occurs through various channels, enabling the monitoring of electronic communications like phone calls, emails, and text messages.
• The Five Eyes Intelligence Oversight and Review Council, also known as FVEY, comprises oversight bodies from each member nation, ensuring accountability and governance within the alliance.