The United States is picking up new allies everywhere.
Kenya just became its 19th so-called major non-NATO ally, a status that gives the country privileges in military procurement and cooperation but stops short of explicit security guarantees. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has reason to hope for the "full monty," as it closes in on a mutual-defense pact with Washington.
Those partnerships follow Sweden joining NATO as its 32nd member this year and Finland as the 31st last year. And in the Indo-Pacific the U.S. is constructing new geometries among allies such as Japan, South Korea, Australia and the Philippines — into "trilaterals,” "quads” and other configurations, some with names (AUKUS, I2U2) that sound like characters in Star Wars sequels.
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