General Canada and Nordic countries ganging up against Russia and China in Arctic
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Arctic Allies to Form Security Group to Counter Russia, China
Melanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, during an interview in New York on Monday.Photographer: Bess Adler/Bloomberg
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By Laura Dhillon Kane
2 октября 2024 г. at 20:38 GMT+3
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Canada is working with Nordic countries to create a new Arctic security coalition that would exclude Russia and offer a place to coordinate on defense, intelligence and cyber threats.
Security talks among the northern allies are needed because they don’t meet privately at the political level anymore, partly due to Russia’s presence on the Arctic Council, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. The Nordics are now all NATO members after Sweden’s accession earlier this year.
“For a long time Canada, we thought we were protected by our geography. But now we need to reckon that we are a country facing Russia and because of climate change, more countries are interested in the Arctic, including China,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “We need to be addressing this new reality.”
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Canada has pledged to strengthen its military presence in the Arctic after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and China’s growing interest in the far north, shattered its sense of security in its vast northern territories. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is also trying to prove to the US that it’s a reliable partner on defense, especially as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump places a heavy emphasis on allies paying their share of security costs.
Joly met last weekend with her counterparts from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in Iqaluit, the capital of Canada’s northern territory of Nunavut. They agreed to explore ways to create a so-called “Arctic security dialogue” or a new forum to discuss defense matters, Joly said.
Those conversations must also focus on foreign investment in the Arctic and adversaries’ so-called “dual-use” research, which targets both civilian and strategic objectives, she added.
The minister is also developing an Arctic foreign policy, in collaboration with Inuit communities living in Canada’s northern territories, that will aim to counter Russian and Chinese influence.
Canada’s military presence in the Arctic pales in comparison with Russia’s, and while its defense policy update this year pledged to boost spending and buy submarines capable of operating under ice, those commitments will take years to fulfill. The country spends about 1.4% of its gross domestic product on defense, much less than the Nordic countries apart from Iceland.
The pledge to deepen security talks with democratic allies in the North is “very positive and very overdue,” said Heather Exner-Pirot, a special adviser at the Business Council of Canada with expertise on Arctic development and security. She noted that senior Chinese and Russian officials have been meeting to discuss Arctic strategy.
Read More: China’s Arctic Dreams Clash With Geopolitics in Tiny Norway Port
The US is extremely concerned about Canada’s inability to defend the northern flank of the continent, Exner-Pirot said, and has been pressing the country to meet the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s target of spending 2% or more of GDP on defense. Twenty-three of 32 members meet the threshold.
In July, Trudeau promised to reach the benchmark by 2032, but gave few concrete details.
“It’s preposterous,” Exner-Pirot said. “We are a wealthy country.”
A boat on the shore in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada.Photographer: David Kawai/Bloomberg
Former US National Security Advisor Susan Rice told an event in Toronto on Wednesday that Trudeau’s 2032 timeline is too slow.
“Canada should frankly be embarrassed about breaking its commitment” and about “being on a slow path” to reaching the 2% goal, Rice said at the Global Risk Institute summit. “Canada needs to pull its weight.”
Joly has been foreign minister since 2021 and has overseen Canada’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and unveiled an Indo-Pacific strategy aimed at curbing China’s influence. A major component of that strategy was increasing military assets and intelligence-gathering, but the minister has also unveiled a strategy of “pragmatic diplomacy,” engaging with nations with which Canada has strong disagreements to achieve common goals, where possible.
To that end, in July she became the first Canadian foreign minister in seven years to visit China, having a “tough” three-and-a-half hour conversation with her counterpart, Wang Yi. The meeting came weeks before Canada announced new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum.
“Sometimes people think that diplomacy is not something that helps you show strength,” she said. “Well, I really think that when you stop talking to certain countries, it actually shows to a certain extent a form of weakness because it’s more tough to have really difficult conversations.”
- Canada, Nordic countries to create venue for defense talks
- Russia-Ukraine war, Chinese incursions shatter sense of peace
Melanie Joly, Canada’s foreign minister, during an interview in New York on Monday.Photographer: Bess Adler/Bloomberg
Gift this article
Have a confidential tip for our reporters? Get in Touch
Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal
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By Laura Dhillon Kane
2 октября 2024 г. at 20:38 GMT+3
Save
Translate
Listen
4:06
Canada is working with Nordic countries to create a new Arctic security coalition that would exclude Russia and offer a place to coordinate on defense, intelligence and cyber threats.
Security talks among the northern allies are needed because they don’t meet privately at the political level anymore, partly due to Russia’s presence on the Arctic Council, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said. The Nordics are now all NATO members after Sweden’s accession earlier this year.
“For a long time Canada, we thought we were protected by our geography. But now we need to reckon that we are a country facing Russia and because of climate change, more countries are interested in the Arctic, including China,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “We need to be addressing this new reality.”
Get the Weekend Edition newsletter.
Big ideas and open questions in the fascinating places where finance, life and culture meet. Coming soon.
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Bloomberg may send me offers and promotions.
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Canada has pledged to strengthen its military presence in the Arctic after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and China’s growing interest in the far north, shattered its sense of security in its vast northern territories. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government is also trying to prove to the US that it’s a reliable partner on defense, especially as Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump places a heavy emphasis on allies paying their share of security costs.
Joly met last weekend with her counterparts from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in Iqaluit, the capital of Canada’s northern territory of Nunavut. They agreed to explore ways to create a so-called “Arctic security dialogue” or a new forum to discuss defense matters, Joly said.
Those conversations must also focus on foreign investment in the Arctic and adversaries’ so-called “dual-use” research, which targets both civilian and strategic objectives, she added.
The minister is also developing an Arctic foreign policy, in collaboration with Inuit communities living in Canada’s northern territories, that will aim to counter Russian and Chinese influence.
Canada’s military presence in the Arctic pales in comparison with Russia’s, and while its defense policy update this year pledged to boost spending and buy submarines capable of operating under ice, those commitments will take years to fulfill. The country spends about 1.4% of its gross domestic product on defense, much less than the Nordic countries apart from Iceland.
The pledge to deepen security talks with democratic allies in the North is “very positive and very overdue,” said Heather Exner-Pirot, a special adviser at the Business Council of Canada with expertise on Arctic development and security. She noted that senior Chinese and Russian officials have been meeting to discuss Arctic strategy.
Read More: China’s Arctic Dreams Clash With Geopolitics in Tiny Norway Port
The US is extremely concerned about Canada’s inability to defend the northern flank of the continent, Exner-Pirot said, and has been pressing the country to meet the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s target of spending 2% or more of GDP on defense. Twenty-three of 32 members meet the threshold.
In July, Trudeau promised to reach the benchmark by 2032, but gave few concrete details.
“It’s preposterous,” Exner-Pirot said. “We are a wealthy country.”
A boat on the shore in Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada.Photographer: David Kawai/Bloomberg
Former US National Security Advisor Susan Rice told an event in Toronto on Wednesday that Trudeau’s 2032 timeline is too slow.
“Canada should frankly be embarrassed about breaking its commitment” and about “being on a slow path” to reaching the 2% goal, Rice said at the Global Risk Institute summit. “Canada needs to pull its weight.”
Joly has been foreign minister since 2021 and has overseen Canada’s response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and unveiled an Indo-Pacific strategy aimed at curbing China’s influence. A major component of that strategy was increasing military assets and intelligence-gathering, but the minister has also unveiled a strategy of “pragmatic diplomacy,” engaging with nations with which Canada has strong disagreements to achieve common goals, where possible.
To that end, in July she became the first Canadian foreign minister in seven years to visit China, having a “tough” three-and-a-half hour conversation with her counterpart, Wang Yi. The meeting came weeks before Canada announced new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum.
“Sometimes people think that diplomacy is not something that helps you show strength,” she said. “Well, I really think that when you stop talking to certain countries, it actually shows to a certain extent a form of weakness because it’s more tough to have really difficult conversations.”
The US and her limpwristed euro allies vs the battle hardened Russians and Chinese manufacturing machine, with resources that the west wants.
canada aint doing shit . our army is pretty much nonexistent these days. we shipped all our artillery to ukraine and it got blown up . the biggest investment in the armed forces over the last several years is tampon machines for the mens washrooms. not even joking . the michagan national guard could take over canada in a weekend . russia could take the arctic whenever they want and canada couldnt do shit to stop them . not only is our army castrated there is zero political will and not a single elected politician with a nutsack. we couldnt even come up with enough gas or spare parts to fire up an armoured division
Whoo
That is a good rant. I've had several rants regarding the US military but no need to sully this masterpiece of angry commentary with my thoughts.
I give it 2 angry old man thumbs up.
The ant immigrant parties that are becoming more and more popular in Europe are all youth movements. Europe is trending stronger
She looks like Dakota Johnson.
And against the American led order.
