Canada on sidelines as U.S., U.K., Australia advance on security deal
OTTAWA Canada’ s omission from a military pact involving three of its closest allies is symptomatic of a larger problem in how this country is perceived by its friends, experts are warning, as the U.S., Britain and Australia move ahead on their deal.
U.S. President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Australian leader Anthony Albanese were at a naval base in San Diego on Monday to confirm the next steps of the trilateral agreement, known as “AUKUS” after the three countries involved.
That includes formalizing American and British plans to help Australia develop a fleet of nuclearpowered submarines in response to growing concerns about China’s actions in the Indo-Pacific region. The Trudeau government has downplayed the importance of AUKUS to Canada, saying Ottawa is not in the market for nuclear-powered submarines, even as others have lamented its absence.
Those include a senior Canadian Armed Forces commander, ViceAdmiral Bob Auchterlonie, who worried about Canada not having access to the same cutting-edge technology as three of its closest allies. The head of the association representing Canada’s defence industry, who criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for dismissing AUKUS as simply a “nuclear-submarine deal,” has also warned about the potential impact on Canadian military exports.
Canada’s exclusion is being seen as further evidence that its allies do not believe Ottawa is not serious about pushing back against Chinese ambitions, despite the recent release of a new Indo-Pacific strategy late last year.
“Because of the pace of events that are unfolding in the Indo-Pacific area, our partners are moving on with essentially a clear direction in mind,” said Canadian Forces College professor Paul Mitchell, an expert on naval strategy and U.S. defence policy.
“Whereas Canada, it’s issued its Indo-Pacific strategy. But I think the trouble that the country has right now is that while it has a ‘strategy,’ it really hasn’t decided what it wants to accomplish in the IndoPacific area.”
The strategy seeks to find a balance between confronting and cooperating with China, saying Canada will challenge it “in areas of profound disagreement” while working on together on areas of shared interest such as climate change.
That compares to the U.S., where Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in a defence strategy released earlier this month described “an increasingly aggressive China” as a “generational challenge” and the American military’s top priority.
“What are we trying to accomplish here?” Mitchell said. “That’s the thing that really mystifies a lot of people. With the United States, there’s clearly an end there in terms of backing up its regional hegemony in the area and support to rulesbased order.”
Former Canadian ambassador to China David Mulroney credited Australia with having initiated AUKUS after serious consideration about its future as a middle power in a world — and region — that China is seeking to dominate.
This reflects not only Australia’s more realistic and innovative approach to diplomacy, Mulroney said, it is also the product of Canberra’s willingness to invest the necessary resources in making such a partnership become reality.
Numbers remain uncertain, but Australia is reportedly poised to spend billions as part of the deal to purchase new submarines. Britain and the U.S. are also expected to put money into the agreement for technology development, training and other areas.