The Canadian government has posted a team of cybersecurity experts at its Taipei office, Canadian media reported yesterday, as Ottawa deepens cooperation with Taiwan to combat hacking and disinformation from China.
Recognizing China poses the biggest threat to both Canada and Taiwan in terms of cybersecurity, Ottawa wants to work with Taiwan to respond to that threat, the Globe and Mail reported.
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Canada’s Communications Security Establishment in a report last week identified China as “the most comprehensive cybersecurity threat facing Canada today."
As Canada does not have formal relations with Taiwan, it has been cautious about cooperating with Taipei regarding national security.
In January, Ottawa quietly sent officials to Taipei to study disinformation during Taiwan’s presidential election, much of which was conducted by China, the Globe and Mail reported.
Canada has also dispatched cybersecurity teams to Canberra, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo as a part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, the Canadian Department of Global Affairs told the newspaper.
“Through the Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canada is committed to enhancing and diversifying its security partnerships and building its cyberdiplomacy, especially as concerns over foreign interference, state-sponsored disinformation, cybersecurity and cybercrime have become increasingly significant,” department spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod said.
Richard Fadden, a formal national security advisor to two of Canada’s prime ministers and previous head of the Canada Service Intelligence Service, led a group of former Canadian security and defense officials on a trip to Taiwan in September, marking the highest level of engagement between the two countries on national security to date, the paper said.
There is a growing consensus in Canada that if Beijing successfully annexes Taiwan, it would only embolden the Chinese government, so Ottawa plans to quietly deepen its cooperation with Taiwan, Fadden told the paper.
Canada is helping Taiwan improve its national security by providing military goods and technology, the Globe and Mail reported.
Last year, exports of military goods and technology to Taiwan rose to C$32.6 million (US$23.47 million), the highest on record, the paper said, citing department data.
Taiwan also plays an important role in Canada’s growing lithium-ion battery supply chain, it reported.
In November last year, the Canadian federal government and British Columbia provincial government supported E-One Moli Energy Corp, a Taiwanese company, to establish a lithium-ion manufacturing plant in Maple Ridge, aiming to make the area a center of the global supply chain for battery components, the report said.
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