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Trust is now the most highly valued commodity in international relations. The global architecture that sought to govern relations between states is breaking down, with major powers in the United States and China no longer interested in adhering to its norms. This means finding friends and forming cooperative, reliable, relationships is now imperative to enhancing security. For Australia, the most critical friendship in the Indo-Pacific is now with Japan.

Both countries maintain their alliances with the United States, but these alliances are currently based on a convergence of interests, rather than friendship. The Donald Trump administration does not believe in the ideals of friendship; it sees interests in the narrow, transactional, sense. These transactions can be beneficial, but they are also flimsy, having weak foundations without friendship and trust.

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