Minister of National Defence Remarks at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Speech
August 8, 2024
Thank you very much for that kind introduction.
Good afternoon, everyone, bon après-midi.
I would like to begin by thanking the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada for hosting today's event.
It's a great opportunity for me and I'm very grateful for the chance to be here.
I'd also like to thank everyone here at the Asia Pacific Foundation for all of the work that you do.
I think we all benefit from your podcasts, from your commentary and from the discussions that you lead us in. It has really helped to inform our thinking and our discussions.
I believe that all of us are here today because we believe that Canada is a Pacific nation at its core.
Indeed, when British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871 and the Canadian Pacific Railway began expanding to the West, Canada’s economic relationship with Asia quickly became apparent to everyone as essential to our future prosperity.
And over the many years that relationship has only grown and millions of Canadians – almost 20 percent of our population – can trace their lineage to Pacific countries.
We conduct billions of dollars-worth of trade in the region…
And, today, the security of the Indo-Pacific region is absolutely critical to the defence of Canada.
And as we look around the world at the global defence and security environment, it has become increasingly clear that the world has become a more dangerous and challenging and uncertain place.
Here at home climate change is disproportionately affecting our country, and in particular our Arctic which is warming at four times the global average.
As the Polar Ice Cap melts, the Arctic is becoming far more accessible and we are seeing much greater activity in the region. Some of that activity is very positive, some of it is concerning to us, and particularly some of the increased Russian and Chinese activity in the region.
We are seeing competitors who are exploring our Arctic waters and the sea, probing our infrastructure and collecting intelligence. We are seeing increased Russian activity in our air approaches and a growing number of China's dual-purpose research vessels and surveillance platforms that are collecting data about the Canadian north that is, by Chinese law, always made accessible to the Chinese military.
Indeed, in July, the Canadian warship Regina, based in Esquimalt, B.C., interacted with the Chinese Research Vessel Xue Long 2 throughout its transit through the Bering Strait.
Despite not being an Arctic nation, China has sought to become a "polar great power" by 2030 and it is demonstrating its intent to play a larger role in the region. China is growing its navy rapidly, it’s increasing its conventional and nuclear-powered submarine fleet, all of which is intended to support its ambitions in the region.
And overseas, China is challenging the international rules-based order that has kept us all safe for over 80 years, and particularly in the Indo-Pacific.
And they are currently pursuing the most ambitious military build-up of any nation since the Second World War.
We believe that China is looking to reshape the international system to advance its own interests, which increasingly diverge from our own matters of security.
It is seeking to establish exclusive control of international airspace and waterways, and it has demonstrated a willingness to employ force to reduce freedom of movement and to expand its influence from the east and the South China Sea to the Himalayas.
China has openly aspired to unity with Taiwan by force if necessary. And if I may be clear, that instability in the Taiwan Strait would have the adverse effect of disrupting trade and costing trillions of dollars to the global economy.
As we deal with these challenges, I believe it's very important that frank dialogue be available to all of us.
In Singapore in June, I held the first of what I hope will be future bilateral meetings between Canadian and Chinese defence ministers in over 11 years. I reiterated that we expect all states to behave responsibly.
I indicated and shared with my counterpart that Canada is concerned about recent Chinese military activity exercises around Taiwan and China's ongoing and growing financial support for Russia.
I also reiterated our concerns about foreign interference in our democratic processes and the coercion of Canadian citizens of Chinese descent right here in Canada and for their families abroad.
It was an important and frank discussion between us, but I think it also opened up the opportunity for future dialogue.
And although we did take the opportunity to share the concerns each of our nations have in our relationship, we also acknowledged the possibility and the importance of ongoing dialogue between our nations.
Now, with the emerging threats from this rapidly changing defence and security environment we are acknowledging the importance of taking action to meet the moment and in the future. That's exactly what we endeavored to do through our updated defence policy, Our North Strong and Free.
We knew that we needed to do more.
We knew that we needed a policy that was ready to meet the challenges of today and beyond.
One with new and significant investments in modern military capabilities in order to safeguard our country and our continent and to stay appropriately engaged abroad.
Through this policy we're investing $73 billion in new defence spending with more to come that will get us inevitably to 2% of our NATO target.
And let me be very clear with respect to that target, it's an entirely valid metric but it's a metric based entirely on spending. It doesn't tell the story of why and it doesn't really help us explain how, it only tells you how much money we have to spend.
I acknowledge and respect the metric that we've committed to, but the hard work is being able to explain to Canadians and to our Allies the investments that we have to make to build up new capabilities in order to meet the challenges that we face.
Of course, the primary focus of this policy is on equipping the Canadian Armed Forces to defend our Arctic and the north from new challenges, including in competition from potential adversaries such as Russia and China.
So, the policy invests in new Arctic infrastructure, Airborne Early Warning Aircraft, surveillance technology, and more.
But I also want to be very clear that this policy also makes clear that Canada's commitment to our partners and Allies remains solid and it identifies the Indo-Pacific along with the Euro-Atlantic as the core pillars of Canadian security.
It helps sustain our naval presence around the world including in the Indo-Pacific.
We're investing almost $10 billion through this policy in order to sustain our Halifax-class frigates.
We're investing in long-range missile technology for our Army.
We're acquiring new worldwide satellite communications capabilities …
and we're making a number of other critical commitments that have clear implications for the Indo-Pacific.
As I announced last month, we're taking the first step towards procuring up to 12 conventionally-powered under-ice capability submarines.
And through the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project we're currently in the process of meeting with manufacturers and potential partners, including among the Asian-Pacific regions, in order to determine the best way to acquire and to build these submarines.
A formal Request for Information will be released later this fall which will assist us in seeking out bidders.
And through this project it is our intention to be able to develop closer ties with our Allies and partners including, as I've mentioned, with Pacific nations.
While improving our capabilities and to protect and defend our coastlines from all three coasts.
We believe that these new capabilities will obviously triple our defence spending compared to a decade ago, but will also enable us to acquire the capabilities that we require to do the job of protecting Canadian interests.
Now, as I've spoken about the threats that we're facing and the investments that we're making to address them there's some good news in this: Canada has a solidly growing network of friends and partners across the region who share our vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
Earlier today, as has been mentioned, I met with the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, Richard Marles to lay out how we are going to strengthen our defence relationships as we contend with regional challenges together.
Canada and Korea will soon hold the first of 2 + 2 meetings between our foreign and defence ministries in order to strengthen our security and defence ties, and that will take place in October.
Canada and Japan are working together to develop a Security of Information Agreement.
And Canada and the Philippines earlier this year signed a Defence Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding in order to expand our relations.
These bilateral ties are only reinforced by our strategic partnership between Canada and the ASEAN launched by the Prime Minister just last fall.
Our partnerships in the Indo-Pacific are essential for trade, sustainable development, international security and much, much more.
The region includes six of Canada’s top 13 trading partners.
And, in less than 20 years, we have every expectation that the Indo-Pacific countries will be responsible for more than half of the global economy.
And, as you know, Canada's comprehensive Indo-Pacific Strategy guides how we will engage in the region.
From a military's perspective this strategy commits us to expanding the CAF's presence in the Indo-Pacific.
You know for many years our presence in the Indo-Pacific was episodic.
We would sail through the Indo-Pacific region, we would do occasional port visits, but we were not seen as a reliable, dependable, consistent partner in security in the region.
And last year, for the first time in decades, Canada deployed three of our Royal Canadian warships into the region.
We're doing it again this year and we have made a commitment that we will be consistently and reliably present in the region.
Having more ships in the region allows us to conduct more port visits, to engage in more exercises and more joint activities and it will enable us to deepen our military-to-military partnerships.
This means our partners and the Allies will not only see more of us, but they will be able to depend on our presence.
It means that we can send clear signals and important signals of commitment for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific including just last week, when the HMCS Montreal transited once again the Taiwanese Strait.
We are also increasing our participation in regional military exercises across all domains.
We're working more closely with partners to help build our military capacity and resilience.
Over the past few weeks Canadian Armed Forces personnel were deployed in and around Hawaii to participate in the Exercise Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, the world's largest maritime exercise.
This wrapped up last week and it saw the Royal Canadian Navy members on board the Vancouver, the Max Bernays, and the Asterix and 300 additional members of the Canadian Forces on land participating among members of 28 militaries from Pacific countries around the region.
Together, they trained in maritime security operations, anti-submarine warfare, air defence, live-fire exercises and humanitarian assistance in disaster relief scenarios.
I'm very proud to say that the maritime component of this exercise was commanded by a Canadian officer this year.
CAF members also deploy routinely to help reinforce UN sanctions against North Korea under Operation NEON and, of course, we remain present in the Korean Peninsula where a Canadian general serves as the Deputy Commander of the United Nations Command.
These contributions matter. Because peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific are critical to peace and prosperity for Canada.
Guided by our Indo-Pacific Strategy and bolstered by the investments that we're making in an updated defence policy, we're going to continue to do our part to help secure the safety and the stability of the region.
From the very first people who built their lives around the proximity to the Pacific Ocean here in Canada …
From the first ships that sailed west from BC to unlock new trade routes …
To this very day …
Canada has been, and is, a proud Pacific nation. It’s in our DNA.
Our Pacific Coastline is roughly 25,000 kilometres long and, along with our Eastern and Northern coasts, it’s part of the largest coastline on Earth.
Our role as a Pacific nation influences so much about this country, and it is going to influence how we keep it safe.
And through our Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canada has outlined how we see our role in the region and to assure our Allies that we are here to stay.
Through Our North, Strong and Free we're backing that up with hard power that is necessary to demonstrate that we are prepared to do what is required, and do our part in the region.
With the network of friends and partners that we have in the region, I am very confident that we can deter conflict, defend the rules that have kept us all safe for over 80 years, and ensure a free and open and inclusive Indo-Pacific for the next generation and for many generations to come. I thank you all for your kind attention and I'll be delighted to answer your questions.
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