(Ottawa) The Department of National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces confirm they are aware of China’s efforts to conduct surveillance operations in Canadian airspace and waters.
Department spokesman Daniel Le Bouthillier said in a statement that the armed forces had tracked down and put an end to attempts to monitor Canadian territory since 2022 as part of Operation LIMPID.
“To ensure the integrity of operations, we are unable to provide further information at this time,” he added.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly told CNN on Wednesday morning that China is an increasingly disruptive power.
She mentioned that Canada would work with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to protect North American airspace. The government will also take a strong stance on Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic.
“We will challenge China when necessary, and we will cooperate with China when we need it,” she said.
“When it comes to Arctic-related issues within our maritime borders, or any form of foreign interference, we are going to be clear, and that is how we are going to approach this problem. »
His comments came after the Globe and Mail reported that the Canadian military detected Chinese surveillance buoys in the Arctic.
The revelation came on the heels of the US decision to shoot down what was confirmed to be a high-flying Chinese balloon earlier this month. The Chinese government denied it was a spy device, arguing instead that the object was actually a weather tool.
Three more high-flying objects were shot down over North America in the days that followed, but US President Joe Biden mentioned after the fact that there was no suggestion the objects were related to what he described as “China’s spy balloon program”.
After balloons, buoys
According to assistant professor at Saint-Francis-Xavier University Adam Lajeunesse, it is currently difficult to say what measuring instruments are used in Chinese buoys.
“It’s a kind of scientific device with potential dual-use capability that was almost certainly dropped by one of the two Chinese icebreakers,” he said, referring to ships the country has. used to circumnavigate the Arctic.
Questions remain as to whether the buoys drifted into Canadian waters after being deployed in the Arctic Ocean, or whether they were deliberately anchored to the seabed in Canadian territory.
Lajeunesse, who specializes in maritime safety in the Canadian Arctic, explained that such a buoy could be used to map the seabed, in addition to monitoring salinity levels and ice thickness.
“It’s scientific work that needs to be done before deploying nuclear submarines in the Arctic,” he said, noting that another fear is that the buoy could track submarines. Americans.
According to him, it would be “nearly impossible” to dissociate scientific and academic work in China from the country’s military and government. As a result, Canada must decide whether to still allow Chinese icebreakers to pass through the Northwest Passage.
“The most significant result is that we will have to reconsider our scientific cooperation with the Chinese,” he said.
“Canada is going to have to undertake a thorough review not only of its cooperation with the scientific community in China, but also of how it responds to seemingly civil and scientific work in its areas of expertise. »
He recalled that the Chinese have been testing unmanned drones, underwater drones and Arctic-specific geospatial technologies in the region for many years.
“None of this is new. I think we’re just starting to notice that and put it in the context of a more adversarial relationship with China. »
The United States amended its marine scientific research laws in 2020 to require additional permissions before allowing other nations to conduct research.