Canada aims to diversify its partnerships as the global landscape shifts rapidly and does not intend to choose sides between China and Taiwan, Vina Nadjibulla, vice president of research and strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said yesterday.
Despite stalled progress on a proposed Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation deal, both sides should continue deepening ties in practical areas, Nadjibulla said in an interview in Taipei.
"I think whether that happens or not, that's a political decision and we'll wait to see what happens between the two governments," she said.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan and Canada concluded talks on a trade cooperation framework agreement in the first half of last year, but Ottawa has reportedly delayed its signing over concerns about its ties with Beijing.
Commenting on the matter, Nadjibulla said that cooperation could still be expanded in areas such as energy security, critical minerals and emerging technologies.
"There's already so much that can be happening," even without a formal deal, she added.
Businesses and civil society groups "can continue to do more together and that will actually create the enabling environment for that political decision to be made," Nadjibulla said.
On broader strategic positioning, she said that Canada is seeking to bolster its autonomy by diversifying partnerships rather than aligning with any single power.
"I think that is exactly what [Canadian] Prime Minister [Mark] Carney was saying, that countries that are not hegemonic, that are not [the US] or China, need to work together to be able to have as much agency, as much choice, as much autonomy as possible," she said.
Asked about ties with the US, Nadjibulla said that Canada is seeking to maintain constructive ties while reinforcing its own capabilities and partnerships with other countries.
The strategy includes investing in domestic strength and expanding global partnerships, rather than reacting to every policy shift in Washington, she said.
"So it's staying calm. It's focusing on what we can control, on deepening relationships and friendships around the world," Nadjibulla said.
At the same time, Canada remains "clear-eyed" in its approach to China, having experienced economic coercion and diplomatic tensions over the past few years, she said.
Only 5 percent of Canadian exports go to China, which is much lower than the share for Australia or Japan, she added.
Ottawa is seeking to stabilize ties with Beijing while maintaining "clear guardrails," including avoiding cooperation in sensitive areas such as artificial intelligence and defense, she said.
Nadjibulla highlighted the economic complementarity between Taiwan and Canada, saying that Taiwan can benefit from Canada's strengths in energy, resources and research, while Canada can tap Taiwan's manufacturing capabilities.
Diversifying energy supply sources could help Taiwan boost its resilience, particularly given geopolitical uncertainties, she said.
"With everything that's happening in the Middle East right now, you're also vulnerable because you're getting so much of your energy from a part of the world that's actually much more volatile," she added.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
The National Immigration Agency has banned two Chinese from returning to Taiwan, after they published social media content it described as disrespectful to national sovereignty. The agency imposed a two-month ban on a Chinese man surnamed Liang (梁) and a permanent ban on a woman surnamed Yang (楊), an influencer with 23 million followers, in October last year and last week respectively. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) yesterday said on the sidelines of a legislative meeting that Chinese visitors to Taiwan are required to comply with the rules and regulations governing their entry permits. The government has handled the ban and
RSS