In unusually clear terms for a government report, Canada has outlined in interest in the Indo-Pacific region.
Canada is a Pacific country. It shares 25,000 kilometers of Pacific coastline, robust trading relationships with economies across the region, deep people-to-people ties and a rich history of cultural exchange. Like most other Pacific-bordering nations, it sees both opportunity and challenges in the region.
Here are the main points of the analysis, most applicable to the U.S. as well as our northern ally:
As great power competition deepens in the region, inter-state tensions are on the rise, many with historical roots. Regional peace and prosperity are threatened by instability on the Korean Peninsula as a result of North Korean provocations; rising violence in Myanmar following the recent military coup d’état; clashes on the India-China and India-Pakistan borders; escalating tensions in the South and East China Seas and across the Taiwan Strait; and severe poverty and inequality. The Indo-Pacific is home to four states that possess nuclear nuclear weapons (China, India, North Korea and Pakistan).
The Indo-Pacific comprises 40 countries and economies: Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, the Pacific Island Countries (14), Pakistan, People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Philippines, Republic of Korea (ROK), Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.
the Indo-Pacific makes up more than one-third of all global economic activity, and 50% of global Gross Domestic Product. Three of the world’s largest economies—the People’s Republic of China (China), India and Japan—are in this part of the world. By 2040—less than two decades from now—the region will account for more than half of the global economy, or more than twice the share of the United States. By 2030, it will be home to two-thirds of the global middle class, having lifted millions out of poverty through economic growth.
At the heart of this dynamic economic region, China’s rise as a global actor is reshaping the strategic outlook of every state in the region, including Canada. China has benefitted from the rules-based international order to grow and prosper, but it is now actively seeking to reinterpret these rules to gain greater advantage. China’s assertive pursuit of its economic and security interests, advancement of unilateral claims, foreign interference and increasingly coercive treatment of other countries and economies have significant implications in the region, in Canada and around the world. Respect for the sovereignty of other states is a cornerstone of the rules-based international order and of governments’ ability to work together to solve shared problems.
Many of Canada’s closest allies, including the United States, the European Union, Germany, France and the United Kingdom, have increased or are considering increasing their presence in the region, guided by their own interests and strategies and based on significant investments in diplomacy, in their military presence, in trade promotion and in development assistance. Within this broader context, Canada has a unique contribution to make based on our particular history and relationships in the Indo-Pacific.
At the heart of this dynamic economic region, China’s rise as a global actor is reshaping the strategic outlook of every state in the region, including Canada. China has benefitted from the rules-based international order to grow and prosper, but it is now actively seeking to reinterpret these rules to gain greater advantage. China’s assertive pursuit of its economic and security interests, advancement of unilateral claims, foreign interference and increasingly coercive treatment of other countries and economies have significant implications in the region, in Canada and around the world. Respect for the sovereignty of other states is a cornerstone of the rules-based international order and of governments’ ability to work together to solve shared problems.
Photo: Pixabay