That's the common way of referring to a government, especially in the security/spying sphere. e.g. "Did the Americans know about Pearl Harbour?" "Why did the S

That's the common way of referring to a government, especially in the security/spying sphere. e.g. "Did the Americans know about Pearl Harbour?" "Why did the Soviets develop the atom bomb"? "Why do the British maintain a nuclear deterrent?" "How will the Australians react to the detention of one of their nationals by the Chinese?"