‘DISRUPTIVE’ CHINA THE FOCUS OF NEW PLAN

Ottawa unveils its long-awaited strategy for Indo-Pacific, promising to work with Beijing where needed but challenge it when necessary

Canada has launched its longawaited Indo-Pacific strategy, outlining C$2.3 billion (HK$13.4 billion) in spending to boost military and cybersecurity in the region and vowing to deal with a “disruptive” China while working with it on climate change and trade issues.

The plan, detailed in a 26-page document, said Canada would tighten foreign investment rules to protect intellectual property and prevent Chinese state-owned enterprises from snapping up critical mineral supplies.

Canada is seeking to deepen ties with a fast-growing Indo-Pacific region of 40 countries accounting for almost C$50 trillion in economic activity. But the focus is on China, which is mentioned more than 50 times, just as bilateral ties are frosty.

Four cabinet ministers at a news conference in Vancouver took turns detailing the plan, saying it was crucial for Canada’s national security and climate as well as its economic goals.

“We will engage in diplomacy because we think diplomacy is a strength, at the same time we’ll be firm and that’s why we have now a very transparent plan to engage with China,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government wants to diversify trade and economic ties that are overwhelmingly reliant on the United States. Official data for September show bilateral trade with China accounted for under 7 per cent of the total, compared to 68 per cent for the United States.

The document underscored Canada’s dilemma over ties with China, which offers significant opportunities for Canadian exporters even as Beijing looks to shape the international order into a more “permissive environment for interests and values that increasingly depart from ours,” the document added.

Yet, it said cooperation with the world’s second-biggest economy was necessary to address some of the world’s existential pressures, including climate change, global health and nuclear proliferation.

“China is an increasingly disruptive global power,” said the document. “Our approach … is shaped by a realistic and cleareyed assessment of today’s China. In areas of profound disagreement, we will challenge China.”

Tensions with China soared in late 2018 after Canadian police detained a Huawei executive and Beijing subsequently arrested two Canadians on spying charges. All three were released last year.

Canada earlier this month ordered three Chinese companies to divest their investments in Canadian critical minerals, citing national security.

The document comes after Trudeau and Joly’s trip for the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia, the Asean summit in Cambodia and a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum in Thailand.

The document, in a section mentioning China, said Ottawa would review and update legislation enabling it to act “decisively when investments from state-owned enterprises and other foreign entities threaten our national security, including our critical minerals supply chains”.

“Because the region is both large and diverse, one size definitely does not fit all,” Canadian Chamber of Commerce President Perrin Beatty said in a statement, adding that Canada’s priorities will need to be very nuanced both between and within countries.

The document said Canada would boost its naval presence in the region and “increase our military engagement and intelligence capacity as a means of mitigating coercive behaviour and threats to regional security”.

That would include annual deployment of three frigates to the region, from two currently, as well as participation of Canadian aviators and soldiers in regional military exercises, Defence Minister Anita Anand said at a separate news conference.

Our approach … is shaped by a realistic and cleareyed assessment of today’s China

CANADIAN POLICY DOCUMENT