(Vancouver) The defence ministers of Canada and Australia say their countries face similar challenges in an era of global volatility not seen since the Second World War, and that stronger cooperation is essential to avoid conflict.
Defence Secretary Bill Blair and his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, have announced an agreement aimed at strengthening their countries’ relationship and their collective ability to respond to everything from global challenges to malicious cyber threats.
“Canada and Australia are both Pacific nations, and the security of the Indo-Pacific is critical to the security of both our countries. Today, that security is being tested in a number of important and difficult ways,” Blair said at a news conference Thursday.
“China is pursuing the most ambitious military buildup of any nation since World War II, and it is seeking to reshape the international system to advance its own interests,” the minister added.
Mr Marles, who is also Australia’s deputy prime minister, is in Vancouver for a bilateral meeting with Mr Blair, and the ministers have committed their militaries to work together as hostile actions by China in the South China Sea and Russia in Eastern Europe continue to test the global order.
“Our sovereignty in the Canadian Arctic is being challenged by a number of potential adversaries, Russia and China in particular, but not exclusively,” Blair said. “It’s very similar to what we’re seeing in the Indo-Pacific.”
In a joint statement, the two countries reiterated their support for an independent Ukraine and reaffirmed a call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Mr Blair says the closely allied countries are “preparing to avoid war”, showing unity in the face of adversaries such as China and Russia, whose actions run counter to “global interests in maintaining a peaceful environment”.
Mr. Marles adds that cooperation between Canada and Australia is aimed at deterring hostile actors, and that avoiding conflict is “at the forefront” of their respective strategies as both countries seek to understand and respond to threats in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.
He said that “the rules-based global order is under more pressure today than at any time since the end of World War II.”
Mr. Marles stressed that Russia’s alliance with China on the eve of the invasion of Ukraine was a wake-up call about the interdependence of global theaters of conflict.
“Suddenly, a conflict in Eastern Europe has become deeply relevant to us in the Indo-Pacific,” he said. “We live in a world where there is fragility and the Indo-Pacific is very relevant.”
Mr. Marles also mentioned that Canada and Australia have worked to “understand the strategic challenges that we face, and therefore the type of defence force that we need to build to meet those challenges.”