Close X
Monday, November 25, 2024
ADVT 
National

Anand says military can work in Asia, Europe

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 18 Nov, 2022 12:29 PM
  • Anand says military can work in Asia, Europe

OTTAWA — Defence Minister Anita Anand is pushing back against suggestions that growing Canada’s military’s footprint in Asia will come at a cost to the country’s long-standing commitments to its NATO allies and European security.

The issue emerged after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced at an international summit in Bangkok on Friday that the government’s new Indo-Pacific strategy will include “increased defence investments” to ensure peace and stability in the region.

While the prime minister did not offer further details, the statement followed the government’s decision in the summer to send two Royal Canadian Navy frigates to the Asia-Pacific region at the same time, as a sign of Canada’s increased engagement. 

Yet that deployment, along with the return of two minesweepers from a stint with a NATO naval task force earlier this month, has left Canada without any warships in European waters for the first time since Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula in 2014.

Asked about the lack of warships in Europe while announcing Canada’s proposal to host an innovation centre for NATO in Halifax, Anand touted the work that HMCS Vancouver and Winnipeg are doing in the west Pacific.

At the same time, she defended Canada’s contributions to both NATO and Ukraine with money and through the deployment of hundreds of troops to lead an alliance battlegroup in Latvia and help train Ukrainian forces in Britain and Poland.

“What we have demonstrated and will continue to demonstrate is that we can walk and chew gum at the same time,” Anand said as one of the navy’s new Arctic patrol ships floated in the Halifax harbour behind her.

“We can focus on the unjust and illegal invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin by putting more than $1 billion (in military aid to Ukraine) on the table, as well as putting forward an Indo-Pacific strategy which will be forthcoming in the following weeks.”

Yet the minister offered no hints as to the government’s plans for Asia, including the scope and scale, which defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute said will be key to balancing the military’s other demands.

Those include not just Europe and Asia, but other parts of the world like the Middle East⁠ — and growing demands from provinces and territories for help here at home as natural disasters grow in frequency and power.

All of that is happening at a time when the military is dealing with a personnel crisis and struggling to replace old equipment.

“That's all part of the problem with having a greater focus on the Indo-Pacific,” Perry said. “Unless you're expanding the pool of resources militarily upon which you can draw, then you are in a scenario where you're having to make choices.”

Anand sidestepped questions about Canada’s continued refusal to refusal to spend the equivalent of two per cent of its national gross domestic product on the military, as all NATO members have repeatedly agreed to do.

MORE National ARTICLES

Liberal cabinet meeting in Vancouver

Liberal cabinet meeting in Vancouver
Trudeau has indicated affordability will be a key agenda item as Canadians struggle to pay their bills and inflation keeps going after bank accounts with a wrecking ball.

Liberal cabinet meeting in Vancouver

Calls to make overdose education mandatory in B.C

Calls to make overdose education mandatory in B.C
The Simon Fraser University student is among a number of advocates who deliver overdose education in B.C. schools but want such information made a mandatory part of the curriculum. The Education Ministry said it's up to each school district to determine the delivery of any programs, including whether to stock naloxone kits or train teachers how to use them. 

Calls to make overdose education mandatory in B.C

Officials plan for spread of southwest B.C. blaze

Officials plan for spread of southwest B.C. blaze
The lightning-caused fire is burning south of Highway 3 in E.C. Manning Park, roughly five kilometres southwest of the Manning Park Resort.

Officials plan for spread of southwest B.C. blaze

B.C. group has close encounter with orcas

B.C. group has close encounter with orcas
Van Sittert, who had been seated on a rock above, said she was initially worried for MacNab's safety because of the whales' high-speed approach, but describes the encounter as "easily one of the most exciting moments" of her life.

B.C. group has close encounter with orcas

No relief for Indian students waiting to join Canadian universities, visa delays continue

No relief for Indian students waiting to join Canadian universities, visa delays continue
Currently, more than 230,000 students from India enrolled in post-secondary institutions in Canada, are making a positive contribution to the Canadian economy, including through an estimated $4 billion in tuition fees. India and Canada's strategic partnership is based on a shared commitment to democratic values, pluralism and the rule of law.

No relief for Indian students waiting to join Canadian universities, visa delays continue

Fraser Valley housing market signals further settling as sales continue to stall in response to interest rate rises

Fraser Valley housing market signals further settling as sales continue to stall in response to interest rate rises
The Board received 2,045 new listings in August, a decrease of 14.3 per cent compared to July, and only 2.9 per cent less than August 2021. The month ended with a total active inventory of 5,871, a decrease of 8.5 per cent from last month but up by 44 percent compared to August 2021.

Fraser Valley housing market signals further settling as sales continue to stall in response to interest rate rises