“Our goal is not just to be firm, but to defend our national interests. So we will never, never have to apologize for defending our national interest. And now we have a clear picture, a transparent picture,” said Mélanie Joly when presenting this new policy.
Canada’s strategy on the Asian continent will result in an investment of $2.3 billion over the next five years, or nearly $500 million annually, to increase Canada’s military and naval presence in the region and develop trade ties with the democratic countries and allies of the continent. For example, by 2023, three Canadian frigates will sail in the Indian Ocean, currently there are two of them. Discussions are also underway to conclude a trade agreement with India and Taiwan, which should not please Beijing.
In particular, Canada wants to diversify and secure its supply chain, the fragility of which became apparent during the pandemic, with too much dependence on China in particular. The goal is also to increase Canada’s diplomatic presence in allied Asian countries. Justin Trudeau has just returned from an important diplomatic trip to the Asian continent, with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders’ summit in Cambodia, the G20 meeting in Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum taking place held in Thailand.
Guy Saint-Jacques was consulted by the Canadian government in the final phase of developing this strategy as a former Canadian ambassador to China: “I am very satisfied, for a strategy to be taken seriously, it had to be global, dealing with security, military issues, development, environment and trade and these are the five stated objectives in relation to this policy”.
The former ambassador also believes that the Canadian government has given itself the means to realize its ambitions by allocating $2.3 billion to implement this new strategy. For example, adding diplomatic staff, increasing the number of trade commissioners in several Asian countries will help businessmen develop new markets outside China and reduce their dependence on the Chinese market.
The five goals of Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy
- Promote peace and security in the region;
- Improving trade, investment and supply chains;
- Invest in the bonds between our respective peoples and continue to defend human rights;
- Support the fight against climate change;
- Deepen Canada’s relationship in the region.
China, a powerever more disruptive“
The Canadian plan describes China as “increasingly disruptive global power” who benefits “of the same international rules that it increasingly ignores”.
Minister Joly also said it during a conference last November 9 in Toronto: China is “a power that increasingly disrupts the world order and that seeks to shape the global environment to be more permissive for interests and values that increasingly diverge from our own“. And you said Canada will not hesitate to confront Beijing if necessary, especially if the cause of human rights is to be defended. Observations also made during an interview with TV5MONDE in mid-November, during the Francophone Summit in Djerba, Tunisia.
Canada’s foreign minister, however, acknowledged that the demographic weight of China’s power and “son influence make cooperation with China necessary to address global challenges,” like climate change.
In short, Canada is clearly moving away from China but is keeping a channel of collaboration open with Beijing on major global issues. “With China, I think the Canadian government has had no choice but to adopt a much tougher policy, underlines Guy Saint-Jacques. We have learned a lot about China in recent years, that it doesn’t meet international standards, that it takes people hostage, that there is a lot of repression in China, that democracy has practically disappeared in Hong Kong, so it is normal to say now to the China: We will still do business with you, but it will be limited to four areas”.
It will now be necessary to see how China will react to this new strategy. The former ambassador admits his skepticism on this matter: “It is a vindictive country, an immature state that likes to penalize countries that oppose it, so I think they will ignore Canada for a while and it will be difficult to resume dialogue in the next few years.”.
Clashes between Xi Jinping and Justin Trudeau at the G20
For example this incident, in the corridors of the G20 in Bali, between Justin Trudeau and the Chinese president. Xi Jinping challenged the Canadian premier, obviously in front of a television camera, to be indignant at the fact that the latter had revealed to the press the contents of a meeting that the two leaders had had in the previous days, the first elsewhere for years.
In the video we see the Canadian prime minister listen without batting an eye to the Chinese president accusing him of lack of loyalty and sincerity. “Everything we’ve discussed has been broadcast to the media and it’s not happening.” said the Chinese president, to which Justin Trudeau replied that in Canada we believe in frank, open and free dialogue and that this will continue, “we will continue to try to work together constructively but there will always be things we disagree on” concluded the Canadian prime minister. “The Chinese president chided the prime minister to tell him he will not tolerate criticism, and since he does not think highly of Justin Trudeau, it will be very difficult to resume a level of dialogue.” analyze Guy Saint-Jacques.
A four year dispute
Relations between Canada and China have been difficult since the Meng Wanzhou affair and the two Michaels. We recall that Beijing had arrested two Canadian citizens, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, in retaliation for the arrest in Vancouver, on December 1, 2018, at the request of the United States, of the chief financial officer of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou. The two Canadians were finally released in September 2021 by the Chinese authorities after an agreement between the Americans and the leader of the Chinese communications giant. But this crisis, which lasted almost three years, had a devastating effect between Beijing and Ottawa and since then the channels of communication between the two countries have had a lot of frills at stake.
Chinese interference in the 2019 Canadian election?
The revelations by Canadian network Global about possible Chinese interference in the 2019 Canadian elections add another layer to the already impressive pile of controversial dossiers between Beijing and Ottawa.
According to information from the Canadian media, eleven candidates from the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party have received funding from Beijing and China has in fact tried to plant agents in the offices of Canadian parliamentarians to “influence policies”. The Canadian Secret Service allegedly warned Justin Trudeau in January. But the Canadian prime minister refuses to confirm anything and remains very vague in his answers to questions, except to say that he mentioned it to the Chinese president when he met him at the G20. In this dossier, the Canadian government is very cautious and appears to be walking on eggshells. China for its part denies everything. Guy Saint-Jacques for his part believes that Canada should perhaps follow the example of Australia, which recently adopted laws to counter Chinese meddling in its political system.
“The resumption of dialogue between Canada and China will be very slow, concludes the former ambassador, contacts will be limited and Canada will have to work closely with its allies to develop common policies to control the worst aspects of China’s foreign policy and try to force China to abide by international rules and stop its thug behavior.
