Key points
- Canada touts reserves of critical minerals needed for defence
- EU leaders brief likeminded allies after defence summit
- Canada PM Carney announces deal with Australia to boost Arctic radar
ISLAMABAD: In response to President Donald Trump’s threats and his pullback from US defence commitments, Canada is seeking to boost defence cooperation with the US.
The country also seeks to improve Europe’s access to its critical minerals
“Canada is seeking closer defence industry cooperation with Italy and the European Union as a matter of urgency,” Elissa Golberg, Canada’s ambassador in Rome wrote to Italy’s finance, foreign affairs, defence and enterprise ministers on Monday, according to Bloomberg.
Talks with allies
That was the same day new Prime Minister Mark Carney visited France and the UK for talks with allies in his first foreign trip since being sworn in as Canada’s new leader on March 14.
Earlier this month, EU chiefs briefed several NATO partners, including Canada about the outcome of a meeting on defence of the bloc’s leaders in Brussels a day earlier.
Shaken by the prospect of US disengagement from the continent’s security, European Union leaders agreed to boost the 27-country union’s defences against the perceived threat from Russia, according to AFP news agency.
Trump’s return to the White House has upended global alliances in ways unimaginable even in weeks before his presidency.
Similarly, Canada also seeks to boost cooperation with Australia.
Deal with Australia
Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Tuesday a Can$6 billion (US$4.2 billion) deal with Australia to develop an Arctic radar system, warning that Canada must take more responsibility for its defence as US priorities shift.
Carney announced Iqaluit, the capital of the Nunavut territory in the Canadian Arctic, on the final leg of his first official trip as prime minister since taking over from Justin Trudeau last week.
Carney — who has previously described the United States under President Donald Trump as a country Canada “can no longer trust” — characterised the radar deal as part of a broader effort to assert Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic.
“The world is changing,” Carney said in Iqaluit, where he made a domestic stop after visits to Paris and London.
“International institutions and norms that have kept Canada secure are now being called into question. And the United States’s priorities, our ally, once closely aligned with our own, are beginning to shift,” he said.
“Over-the-horizon”
“We cannot and should not look first to others to defend our nation.”
Australia is a leader in “over-the-horizon” radar, an advanced system that allows for continuous threat-tracking over a vast area.
“The radar system’s long-range surveillance and threat tracking capabilities will detect and deter threats across the North,” Carney’s office said in a statement announcing the deal.
