Canada’s long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy describes China as an “increasingly disruptive global power” on the world stage — a social and economic force too big to ignore, but also increasingly focused on more to bend international rules to suit their own interests.
Using surprisingly strong language, the strategy says the Canadian government must be “clear” about China’s goals in the Far East and elsewhere. It promises to spend nearly half a billion dollars over five years to improve military and intelligence cooperation with allies in the region.
“China’s rise, enabled by the same international rules and norms it now increasingly ignores, has had an enormous impact on the Indo-Pacific and has ambitions to become the region’s premier power ” the 26-page document says. which was provided to the media ahead of its official launch in Vancouver on Sunday.
“China is making large-scale investments to establish its economic influence, diplomatic impact, offensive military capabilities and advanced technologies. China seeks to shape the international order in a more permissive environment for interests and values that move further and further away from ours.”
The strategy paper also says that “China’s size and influence make cooperation necessary to address some of the world’s existential pressures, including climate change and biodiversity loss, global health and proliferation nuclear”.
In this sense, Canada’s foreign policy plan reflects the approaches of its closest allies, including the United States, which last February published its own vision for engagement in the region.
Where the US and Canadian strategies differ is in how Canada’s document explains that it will “at all times unapologetically defend our national interest” and that its views will be “formed by a realistic and clear assessment of China today”.
Many observers, including some prominent liberals, have urged the government in recent years to maintain the pro-business and investment relationship with Beijing that has been built over the past two decades.
The new strategy paper, however, appears to reflect lessons from the bitter international confrontations that have brought Canada-China relations to a standstill: the detention and extradition fight involving Chinese telecom executive Meng Wanzhou; the retaliatory detention in China of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig; and even Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent speech to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, an event caught on camera.
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“In areas of deep disagreement, we will challenge China, even when it engages in coercive behavior, economic or otherwise, ignores human rights obligations, or undermines our national security interests and those of partners in the region,” the document said. of strategy
In an interview broadcast Sunday on CBC’s Rosemary Barton Live, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly described the overall plan as “pragmatic” and principled.
“Our approach is clear, you know, and we have a clear framework which is essentially to protect our national interests without compromising our values and principles,” Joly said.
“So what I’ve said many times at this point is that we’re going to challenge when we have to and we’re going to cooperate when we have to.”
Foreign investment, foreign interference
Overall, the strategy calls for about $2 billion in investments to, among other things, strengthen “Canadian infrastructure, democracy and citizens against foreign interference.”
It proposes changes to the Investment Canada Act to prevent SOEs and other foreign entities that threaten Canada’s national security from taking over Canada’s critical industries and intellectual property. All federal departments are asked to review memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with China and other countries to ensure that Canada’s national interests are protected.
The strategy maintains Canada’s one-China policy when it comes to Taiwan. The island, a democracy, faces growing threats from Beijing, which has not ruled out the use of military force in its push to unify Taiwan with the mainland.
“Canada will oppose unilateral actions that threaten the status quo in the Taiwan Strait,” the strategy says.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a difficult exchange at the G20 summit in Indonesia on November 16, 2022. (Prime Minister’s Office)
On Sunday, Joly drew a direct line between Canada’s involvement in the Pacific and another major focus of its foreign policy: the Arctic. He said closer ties with South Korea and Japan would support Canada’s goal of maintaining sovereignty in the region, in light of growing interest from countries such as China.
“There will be more Canadian men and women in the region to ensure peace and also uphold the rule of law,” he said.
The strategy paper has been years in the making and was eagerly awaited by Canada’s allies in the region, including Japan and South Korea, who have been pushing for deeper cooperation.
The Liberal government promised when it was first elected in 2015 to develop a new approach to China after years of difficult relations under the former Conservative administration.
But Canada has struggled to figure out how to engage with an increasingly assertive, sometimes belligerent China and its supreme leader Xi, who has openly rejected elements of Western-style governance such as the separation of powers .
The Liberals signaled a plan to increase Canada’s military commitment to the region during the prime minister’s recent trip overseas to the G20 summit.
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command conducts a long-range live-fire drill in the Taiwan Strait from an undisclosed location in this handout released on 4 of August 2022. (People’s Liberation Army Brochure / Reuters)
This commitment is broadly outlined in the strategy document through pledges to increase engagement in international military exercises and increase the number of Canadian warships deployed in the region.
There is also a commitment to help smaller countries in the region build up their security forces, presumably with the help of Canadian training. This promise is similar to the promise the Liberal government made in 2017 to help increase the training and quality of UN peacekeepers, a promise that has not been kept.
The strategy says the military commitments being made are tied to the ongoing review of Canada’s defense policy, ordered after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This review has yet to be made public.
The defense and security promises of the Indo-Pacific Strategy are being realized at a time when the Canadian military is short of 10,000 members and struggling to recruit new ones. Joly said the government will make the strategy work and “put our money where our mouth is”.
Earlier this month, China’s embassy in Canada responded to a speech by Joly that previewed the new strategy, saying it “contains a lot of negative content related to China that distorts the truth, exaggerates the so-called ‘ Chinese threat’ and discredited the Chinese threat”. image, which constituted a major interference in China’s internal affairs. China is deeply concerned about this and strongly opposes it.”