Minister of National Defence Remarks at the United Nations Command (UNC) Ministerial
National Defence
2024-09-17
Speech
September 10, 2024
Thank you very much for that very warm greeting.
Minister Kim,
Fellow Defence Ministers and Heads of Delegation,
General LaCamera,
Lieutenant-General Macaulay,
Dear Friends.
I am very pleased to be here in Seoul with all of you in my first visit to Korea as Canada's Minister of National Defence.
It is a great honour for Canada to have the opportunity to co-host the second ROK-UNC Ministerial Meeting together with our co-host, the Republic of Korea, and I extend my sincere thanks to Minister Kim.
Minister Kim, Canada and the Republic of Korea have a strong relationship which has been built upon years of international cooperation, ever-deepening economic ties, and respect for the rule of law.
We are both Pacific nations working together to uphold stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region.
And Canada, along with all of the UNC Member States present here, including our newest member Germany, are with you here today because we believe that we are stronger together.
Together, we are better able to promote peace and to prevent conflict.
Together, our diplomacy carries more weight.
And together, we are best suited to maintain a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific.
Seventy-four years ago, the UN Security Council called for unified command on the Korean Peninsula to counter North Korea's unlawful attack on the new Republic of Korea, and to restore peace and stability.
Over 26,000 Canadians fought here in Korea, and it remains our third bloodiest conflict.
Since then, Canada has maintained a continuous presence here on the Korean Peninsula.
And I want to assure you all, our presence here will endure. Because we believe coalitions matter.
Deterring conflicts matter.
The international rules that have kept us all safe matter.
And we believe that dialogue matters as well.
Dialogue has long been the key tool in our toolbox for avoiding escalation and that's why all 18 of our UN Command Member States support the work of the UNC Military Armistice Commission under the leadership of South Korean Major-General Kang In Kyu, and Secretary Lieutenant-Colonel Ricarlos M. Caldwell, of the US Army.
Over the past 71 years, this work, and that of the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, have upheld the Armistice and prevented the outbreak of renewed conflict.
As UNC member states, no matter where we call home in the world, whether it be in Thailand or Türkiye, Colombia or New Zealand, Canada or in South Korea, we all agree that peace and stability here in the Indo-Pacific are fundamental to the lives of our citizens and to our economic well-being.
So we will continue to be here. We must and we will remain present.
We are also united in condemning the expanding military cooperation we're seeing between North Korea and the Russian Federation.
Their deepening ties undercut the UN Security Council's efforts to address the DPRK's nuclear and ballistic missile programs which threaten the stability on the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific region, and this collusion brings consequences further afield as well.
Russia's use of North Korean missiles in its illegal and unprovoked war in Ukraine demonstrates that Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security are increasingly linked.
Here on the Korean Peninsula, each of our countries will continue contributing to security and stability under the leadership of General Paul LaCamera and his Canadian Deputy Commander Lieutenant-General Derek Macaulay.
Lieutenant-General Macaulay, I want to take the opportunity to thank you for your outstanding work. Your presence here is an enduring sign of our commitment to the UNC and to the security on the Korean Peninsula.
Today, and going forward, we have some very important work to do.
In order to maintain an effective deterrence, UNC Member States recognize that policies and systems that may have served the unified command well in the 1950s need to be modernized to reflect current realities on the ground, in the air, and at sea in the 2020s.
This includes integrating the Republic of Korea as a full partner in the UNC, as well as developing new processes that will facilitate better sharing of information and a better framework for the UNC personnel from our states to serve in the Republic of Korea.
From Canada's vantage point, this will enable the UNC to strengthen its membership while improving its collective ability to understand emerging security threats.
Minister Kim, thank you again for your gracious invitation for Canada to co-host this meeting and many thanks to all of you around the table for sharing your commitment to the UNC's mission.
I look forward to deepening our friendship and continuing our vital work to ensure lasting stability and security on the Peninsula.
Thank you. Merci.
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