(Ottawa) Defense ministers from Canada and China met last week for the first time in 11 years at an international security conference, as the countries work to restore lines of communication .
Bill Blair met with Admiral Dong Jun on Friday while attending the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, marking the first meeting between Canadian defense ministers since 2013.
“Communication between our countries is vital and I welcome new opportunities for dialogue,” Blair said in a statement published on the social network X.
Minister Blair said he had expressed Canada’s concerns about Beijing’s foreign interference, its financial and economic support for Russia and its recent military exercises in Taiwan.
China staged a mock blockade of the island at the end of May, after the election of a new government that does not accept Beijing’s position that Taiwan is part of China.
The topic of China’s actions in Taiwan was also raised by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during his meeting with Dong on Friday, according to Pentagon officials.
It was the first in-person ministerial-level meeting since contacts between the U.S. and Chinese militaries were severed in 2022, when Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, infuriated Beijing by returning to Taiwan.
In recent years, Canada has participated in U.S.-led exercises in the Taiwan Strait, which U.S. officials say are intended to emphasize freedom of navigation in the region’s disputed waters.
There are reports that China took aggressive measures during these exercises. Last June, the United States released a video showing a Chinese ship cutting off the path of an American destroyer.
Then, in October, Mr Blair accused the Chinese military of unacceptable and dangerous behavior after a fighter jet came within five meters of a Canadian surveillance plane over the East China Sea .
Canada has committed to continuing to send three navy ships to the region as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, which will also see more military cooperation and joint exercises with its Indo-Pacific allies .
“We stand ready to engage with China and all our partners across the Indo-Pacific region to ensure a stable and secure region,” Mr Blair said during his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
A rapprochement after tensions
His meeting with Mr. Dong is the latest in a series of high-level discussions that suggest relations between Canada and China are improving after years of tension.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly spoke with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in January, and the two ministers met in person in February.
Also in January, a senior Canadian military official, Major General Gregory Smith, told MPs that Ottawa was seeking to repair relations with China’s defense attaché. He also noted that Canada has not conducted any military exercises or cooperated with the People’s Liberation Army since 2018.
It was the same year that Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou was arrested in Vancouver in connection with an extradition case to the United States. China responded by arresting Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, in what is widely seen as retaliation.
Diplomatic relations have been strained for years, while Mme Meng and the two Michaels remained in custody. Mme Meng was released in September 2021, and Mr. Kovrig and Mr. Spavor returned to Canada shortly thereafter.
Starting in late 2022, Global News and the Globe and Mail published a series of articles based on leaked intelligence information that Beijing attempted to interfere in the 2019 and 2021 Canadian federal elections. The scandal ultimately led to a public inquiry, which released an interim report at the beginning of May.
Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue considered that the attempted interference did not affect the overall results of the two elections or undermine the integrity of the electoral system.
Its report finds that it was possible that the results of races in a small number of districts were affected by the interference and identifies two instances of individual races where Beijing allegedly tried to influence the outcome. Mme Hogue said there was not enough evidence to draw conclusions about what really happened in either case.
The interim report highlights that intelligence services have warned as far back as the 1980s about Beijing’s efforts to influence the Chinese diaspora in Canada.
With information from the Associated Press