(Ottawa) Opposition parties in the House of Commons and geopolitical experts are calling for an action plan to accompany Canada’s new Indo-Pacific strategy, unveiled Sunday by Minister Mélanie Joly.
The new strategy has been criticized by some observers, who criticize it for not adequately meeting the needs of this region of the world, but it was above all dismissed out of hand by the Chinese ambassador to Canada.
However, on the side of the sectors concerned and the experts in the field, the reception was more favourable.
“It’s the most comprehensive foreign policy strategy document we’ve seen from a Canadian government in a long time,” said Roland Paris, who is a former adviser to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“But I would like to better understand how the government will measure whether it is meeting its targets and how it will be held accountable,” he added.
The Indo-Pacific Strategy, which was originally due to be released in 2020, will see Canada invest $2.3 billion over the next five years for Asia-Pacific trade and defense projects. The avowed objective is to counter the rise of China; the document presents the attitude that Ottawa wishes to adopt in its relations with Beijing.
The concrete targets to be reached to confirm the success of this objective are however not specified.
For example, the strategy says the government will hire diplomats, but it doesn’t say how many will be added. We must therefore fall back on an earlier statement by Prime Minister Trudeau, who spoke of about sixty new hires.
According to Mr. Paris, who is now director of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, the objectives set out by Ottawa will be taken seriously only if the government provides more details, particularly in regarding military resources.
“There are a number of proposals that are interesting, but require further explanation. For example, what is a commercial door, exactly? »
The strategy provides $24 million to establish a hub to help Canadian companies identify investment opportunities in the region.
Details are not spelled out in the strategy itself, but the office of International Trade Minister Mary Ng on Monday described the trade gateway as a physical space that would likely be located in Singapore.
In Parliament
Among the oppositions, the conservative spokesman for Foreign Affairs, Michael Chong, continues his evaluation of the strategy, but he recalled that it will only work if the government does not put it on a shelf.
Such strategies have already been consigned to oblivion, according to Chong, who cited as an example the liberals’ legislation to ban imports of forced Uyghur labor from Xinjiang, which he said does not appear to be enforced.
“In many ways, the strategy came too late. The government is trying to reclaim our allies and democratic partners in the region,” Chong wrote in an email.
For its part, the NDP said it agrees with the goal of diversifying trade away from China and deepening work on climate and human rights. MP Heather McPherson has also promised to fight to ensure that this is “not just another empty promise”.
The Bloc Québécois, for its part, stressed that the strategy was crucial, but that it was skeptical that Ottawa would do enough to see results.
The disgruntled Chinese ambassador
In a speech Monday at the University of Ottawa, Chinese Ambassador to Canada Cong Peiwu told students that the Canadian government should stop imitating the United States and resist the idea of a new cold war.
“Unfortunately, it appears that Canada has followed the American practice of creating division and fueling confrontation in the region,” Cong said.
“In China’s view, this has distorted facts, exacerbated the theory of a so-called Chinese threat and violated China’s internal affairs. We strongly oppose it. »
Instead, Cong argued that China presented an opportunity for economic growth, and he argued that Canada sided with a US approach that would only threaten global stability.
“Essentially, he is trying to make Asia-Pacific countries pawns of US hegemony, trying to cause tension to upset Asia-Pacific relations,” he said.
“These kind of baseless accusations and finger pointing are really not conducive to our future cooperation at all. »
Cong added that he hopes Ottawa finds common ground, “abolishes [la] Cold War mentality and promote Canada-China relations”.
Journalists were allowed to attend the speech, but could not film the remarks. During the speech, a curtain was lowered to block the view of a protest against China’s treatment of Uyghurs taking place on campus.
Mr. Cong’s speech was scheduled before the announcement of the new strategy by the federal government.