Minister of National Defence Remarks at the Seoul Defence Dialogue
National Defence
2024-09-17
Speech
September 11, 2024
Minister Kim,
Admiral Bauer,
Excellencies,
Colleagues and friends.
Good morning to all.
It's a very great privilege for me to be here today for the Seoul Defence Dialogue as part of my first official visit to Korea.
First of all, to Minister Kim, thank you for your very kind and warm hospitality, and your leadership both today at this very important Seoul Defence Dialogue, but also during yesterday's United Nations Command Ministerial Meeting.
And to Admiral Bauer, I want to take the opportunity to thank you for your exemplary leadership of the NATO Military Committee and your invaluable contributions to our alliance.
As you have heard and understand, my co-panellists and I come from three very different parts of the world.
But notwithstanding our separation by distance and culture, we share a common goal of maintaining the rules-based international order which has delivered peace, stability and prosperity to all of our peoples.
And I believe that Canada has a unique role to play in achieving that goal because we are an Arctic nation, an Atlantic nation, and a Pacific nation.
For example, our Pacific coastline is roughly 25,000 kilometres long and our trade and security links with this region are vital, and strong, and growing.
In particular, Canada's ties with the Republic of Korea run deep. Roughly 26,000 Canadians served here in Korea during the Korean War which was Canada's third bloodiest conflict.
And since the very beginning, we've been part of the United Nations Command, upholding and helping to uphold the Korean Armistice Agreement, and working towards a lasting peace.
Canadian Armed Forces members also regularly deploy alongside members of Korea's Armed Forces during regional exercises, including Exercise Rim of the Pacific which wrapped up only last month.
And Korea has become one of Canada's largest trading partners in the Indo-Pacific, as well as our third-largest regional partner when it comes to defence materiel.
I believe very sincerely that there is much more that we can do together and that's why we continue to make progress on our Action Plan to implement the Canada-Korea Strategic Partnership, which includes exploring more opportunities for our defence industries to work together.
I am very pleased that in 2022, our countries re-signed a Defence Materiel Cooperation MOU and that we are seeing daily evidence of growing ties between our defence industrial bases.
Relationships such as these, and those relationships fostered through this dialogue, are critical during increasingly difficult times.
As we are all aware, our world has become a far more dangerous place over the past few years.
A number of crises including Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine and the Israeli-Hamas conflict in the Middle East are all evidence of the challenges that the rules-based order is facing in today's world.
Here in the Indo-Pacific, we are seeing China undertaking the most rapid military build-up of any nation since the Second World War and it appears to intend to reshape the international system to suit its own goals.
And as we've seen in the last few months, China is challenging the freedom of navigation of the South China Sea, a waterway that is critical to regional and global prosperity.
And on occasion, it has repeatedly and dangerously obstructed the movement of Philippine vessels.
They clearly openly aspire to unite with Taiwan, and we believe very strongly that any instability in the Taiwan Strait would have a devastating effect to the global economy.
And closer to my country, China has deployed an increasing number of dual-purpose research vessels and surveillance platforms, collecting data about our Arctic and North.
And in the Arctic, we are seeing China working hard to increase its economic and military presence in cooperation with Russia.
It is clear that on matters of security, China's interests may increasingly diverge from our own.
But I think it's also essential to prevent misunderstanding. Clear communication with China is vital and I took the opportunity just this past June to hold our first meeting between a Chinese and Canadian defence minister in over 11 years.
And during that dialogue, I had the opportunity to make clear that foreign interference cannot be tolerated and expressed some concern about China's military activity around Taiwan.
But we were able to agree together that there is a need for dialogue and cooperation in order to avoid conflict.
Likewise, we recognize the continued threat posed by North Korea. This includes the DPRK's buildup in testing of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. Canada unequivocally condemns these actions in no uncertain terms.
And we've taken action by imposing sanctions on North Korea, along with the UN Security Council sanctions, which the Canadian Armed Forces uphold through Operation NEON.
Despite Russia's attempts to undermine our work by vetoing the renewal of the UN Panel of Experts who track and report on evasion efforts, Canada will continue to monitor violations by the DPRK in cooperation with all of our international partners.
We call on North Korea to stop these programs and other aggressive activities, to resume its adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to pursue dialogue with the international community.
We are also concerned with China and North Korea's deepening ties to Russia in support of its illegal invasion of Ukraine.
We will continue to call them out for their work to spread disinformation and conduct malicious cyber activities which threaten our critical infrastructure and can sow distrust and a lack of trust in our most important institutions.
In the face of these threats, the ties between Canada and our Indo-Pacific partners matter more now than ever, and that's why in 2022, Canada released its Indo-Pacific Strategy.
This strategy serves as a critical roadmap for how we will engage in the region. It makes very clear that our partners and allies can expect to see more of us present in this region of the world.
We need to be a reliable and dependable partner and thanks to this strategy, our military presence in the Indo-Pacific is growing.
Last year, as well as this year, we have deployed and are deploying, three Canadian naval warships into the region for the first time in decades.
This increased presence is going to allow us to work more closely with partners including right here in the North Pacific.
Most recently, HMCS Vancouver has been sailing on Exercise PACIFIC VANGUARD.
As part of this mission, they've been training with members of the Korean, Japanese and American navies, strengthening their skills in maritime operations, anti-submarine warfare, air warfare operations and advanced maneuvering.
And through Operation NEON, we have been deploying our ships and aircraft to monitor UN sanction operations against North Korea and working with the military members of all like-minded Pacific countries.
As our people work and train together, they are learning valuable new skills and forging deeper bonds.
Likewise, as one of the 18 countries that participates in the United Nations Command, Canada will continue to do our part to maintain stability and security on the Korean Peninsula.
We have supported this mission from the very beginning, since 1953, and in the 71 years since this command was established, Canadian Armed Forces members have helped to enforce the Armistice Agreement and to reinforce deterrence.
We have taken on a variety of critical roles including serving right on the front lines of the De-Militarized Zone as part of the Military Assistance Commission.
And for the second time, a Canadian officer - currently Lieutenant General Macaulay, is currently serving as the Deputy Commander of the UNC.
Our increased presence here in the Indo-Pacific must be sustained and that is going to require significant new investments in our capabilities.
Earlier this year, I released an updated defence policy for my country.
It's called Our North, Strong and Free, and through this policy we have identified the Indo-Pacific, Europe and the Arctic as key strategic regions of focus for our military.
We are investing almost $10 billion dollars to extend the life of our Halifax-class warships so that we can continue to deploy them right here and we've begun construction on a new fleet of River-Class Destroyers, launching the process to acquire up to 12 new conventionally-powered submarines for the Royal Canadian Navy.
These are new and improved capabilities that are necessary, allowing Canada to continue to bolster its presence here in the Indo-Pacific, to do our part, and to live up to our obligations to our international partners.
They will make us more interoperable with our closest partners and they will continue to contribute to deterrence.
Our intent is to ensure that Canada remains a reliable and valuable partner in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
We recognize that the world has changed and continues to change rapidly. We also acknowledge we've got to do more, and we will do more.
That's why Canada has committed to investing 2% of its GDP in defence as rapidly as possible, and by 2032. As the security threats facing the Indo-Pacific and the world grow, we are stronger with like-minded partners who share our values.
And as a proud Pacific nation and a dedicated NATO ally, Canada truly values our close relationships with nations that share our aspirations.
Nations like the Republic of Korea, with whom we share a long and treasured friendship.
These are indeed uncertain times, but I believe that they are also times of opportunity and possibility.
Because we are stronger when we work together.
When partners stand united.
And for Canada's part, I want to assure you all that we are committed to this region, we are here to stay, and we will do our part.
And I believe that together we can maintain a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, and defend the international rules that have kept us safe for nearly 80 years.
Thank you. Merci.
And again, thank you for the kind invitation to be here.
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