Canada's Arctic Policy in the context of Canada and Indo-Pacific Policy: for your reference and reading pleasure.
Global Affairs Canada (through a small task force) has been working to produce Canada's policy response to ongoing developments to define thinking that goes beyond what was understood to be "Asia-Pacific" to encompass the "Indo-Pacific" region with a focus on India.
In my humble opinion, the move from "Asia-Pacific" terminology to "Indo-Pacific" terminology (which crept up into my consciousness when I was not looking) is all about the US striving to move India into a mindset against China in the context of the new "Great Game" of China, supported by junior partner Russia, versus the US. There are many moving parts that keep changing their shape to the chagrin of policy-makers and pundit pontificators. The current Ukraine crisis provides some indication on how this is all going. I welcome any and all who may correct me on this premise.
The APFC paper (I have yet to read in detail) is a solid piece of analysis that links various elements into the whole. These include (again, I have not read in detail):
- China's Arctic ambitions
- the Sino-Russian relationship beyond just the Arctic
- the ongoing new "Great Game" [my terminology, not APFC's]
- Canada's ongoing anemic policy implementation to Arctic issues within and beyond its boundaries
- a need for a more robust Canadian military situational awareness and presence in Canada's Arctic
- the need for closer Arctic Council like-minded partnerships, despite current challenges with those who may not be "like-minded" in the bigger context
- the implications of AUKUS and Australia's robust calculations wrt Indo-Pacific
- and, oh, is the Arctic really getting warmer? Shocking surprise!
I am sharing the APFC policy paper to this international international grouping of Arctic experts, to those concerned about Arctic issues, and maybe those who are focused on nuclear security issues who may appreciate a wider situational awareness because it is an important reference to our ongoing conversation focused on security writ-large.
Regards to all,
marius
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From:
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada <in...@asiapacific.ca>Date: Fri, Apr 8, 2022, 18:14
Subject: Your Weekend Read: APF Canada's New Policy Brief
To: Marius <
mgri...@gmail.com>
A Canadian Arctic Policy for the Indo-Pacific
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A Canadian Arctic Policy for the Indo-Pacific: A New Policy Brief from the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Comprising nearly 40 per cent of Canada's landmass and 162,000 km of its coastline, the Arctic is an essential part of Canada's national identity and embedded in our history and culture. It is also an area of key strategic importance for Canada, particularly in the context of Canadian sovereignty and competing interests in the region – including those of Indo-Pacific states whose activities, capabilities, and influences in the Arctic are developing disproportionately faster than their North American and European counterparts.
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As Canada's federal government has also identified the Indo-Pacific as a region of renewed strategic importance, a direct linkage between Canada’s interests in the Arctic and those in the Indo-Pacific becomes increasingly relevant and important – more so, arguably, than the relationships that have historically underpinned Canadian Arctic diplomacy, including those with the G7, NATO, and liberal democracies within traditional Western policy discourse.
Canada must look to a more integrated strategic approach, one capable of advancing the country’s national interest across an increasingly complex and, at times, contradictory operational environment. This new policy brief from APF Canada identifies areas of overlapping opportunity in the country’s Arctic and Indo-Pacific affairs. It surveys Asia’s predominant Arctic actors – China, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea – and maps their Arctic objectives, activities, institutions, and actors. The brief then provides policy options for greater Canadian integration in the Indo-Pacific’s emerging Arctic ecosystem with specific references to the country’s national interests in the region, as defined in key Canadian policy documents.
Through this approach, the brief’s authors provide a new framework for Canadian involvement in the Arctic that is more comprehensive, more inclusive, and more supportive of the country’s broader engagement in the Indo-Pacific.
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Learn More:
The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada is a not-for-profit organization focused on Canada's relations with Asia. Learn more about the Foundation at: www.asiapacific.ca
Media Contact:
Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada
Michael Roberts, Communications Director
michael...@asiapacific.ca
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