As we look at the foreign policy white paper published in late 2017, it echoes some of the remarks in the 2016 defence white paper about the importance of the rules-based global order. Indeed, the frequent use of the term belies a gnawing concern about the fragility of that order, and a hope that repeating the mantra might help bolster that order in the face of numerous challenges. But the defence white paper predated Donald Trump, Rodrigo Duterte, Brexit, and post–19th Party Congress Xi Jinping. The world certainly looks different nowadays. If anything, those developments have added urgency and clarity to the foreign policy white paper.
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