On Day 1 of his government, Canada's 44th, Liberals found blind sided and left out of any opportunity to stave off its passive stance against China or to step up defense spending.
"...Last week, the United States, United Kingdom and Australia announced a new defence and security partnership, dubbed AUKUS, which is intended to present a unified front toward an increasingly aggressive China, and demonstrate to other countries that the U.S. intends to remain engaged in the Asia-Pacific region for decades to come. Not only was Canada not included in the agreement, but the federal government seemed to be completely blind-sided by the announcement — a reflection of our diminished stature on the world stage.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau immediately downplayed the importance of the agreement, saying it was merely a way for the U.S. to sell nuclear submarine technology to Canberra (which is indeed a central element of the deal). But Trudeau’s comments suggest that he does not appreciate the significance, or the long-term implications, of the new alliance.
The first issue to consider, then, is what the new alliance says about the relationship between the U.S. and Canada.
Unfortunately, the answer is clear: it represents an unmistakable sign that Washington has largely given up on Ottawa as a serious defence partner, having concluded that this country has absolutely no intention of living up to its NATO commitment to spend two per cent of gross domestic product on defence (Trudeau largely acknowledged this a few years back). The lack of spending severely limits what this country can do militarily, and no amount of defence sleight-of-hand or political spin can change that...."
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