Deepening Canada’s military and economic ties with Asian democracies is a top priority, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s top diplomat said yesterday as she wraps up a week-long visit to Japan and South Korea.
Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly said in an interview that Canada wants to use its resources, including critical minerals, to help Asian allies reduce their reliance on authoritarian countries such as Russia and China, just like it plans to do for Europe.
“We believe that this is our neighborhood,” Joly said by telephone from Seoul. “Changing our mindset and looking west is extremely important.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Joly’s remarks echo themes raised by one of her predecessors at the ministry during a major speech this week in Washington.
Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on Tuesday called for an economic alliance of liberal democracies as a counterweight to the “comeback” of authoritarianism around the world.
Military cooperation — particularly around the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea — was a significant focus during Joly’s trip.
Canada and Japan are working on a new intelligence sharing agreement and are fostering closer ties on defense procurement, Joly said.
She has pledged to release a new Indo-Pacific strategy by the end of the year.
Canada also needs to “leverage our strengths” on economic security in the region, she said, pointing to a major Shell-led liquefied natural gas export terminal being built on Canada’s west coast as a prime example.
“Starting in 2025 Canada will be one of the main LNG suppliers for Japan and [South] Korea, and that will definitely have an impact on our relationship,” Joly said.
Asked if the government sees opportunity for building further LNG export capacity to Asia, she said that any such move would be “a private sector decision.”
Joly’s talks in Asia included sessions with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, as well as separate meetings with the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea.
She also used them to highlight that Canada can supply seven of the 11 critical minerals needed for electric vehicle battery production.
“They’re extremely interested in sourcing these critical minerals from Canada, contrary to sourcing them from China,” she said.
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