Leveraging defence relations with Japan is critical for Canada’s Indo-Pacific presence

At the recent G7 Summit, we saw the world’s leading economies—along with some special invitees including Brazil, India, and South Korea—convene in Hiroshima, Japan, to tackle the world’s pressing problems. Traditional global economic issues, recast under an economic-security and resiliency framing, were of course topics of discussion. So were food and energy security, issues on which Canada—an otherwise more junior G7 economic partner—has an outsized ability to influence by feeding and powering the world. Russia’s grinding occupation of Ukraine and increasing tensions with China provided the overarching geopolitical backdrop for the discussions for a second year in a row. The summit also presented an opportunity for Canada to double down on its increasing ties with the Japanese hosts, further strengthening ties with one of the region’s strongest economies and a key regional security actor. Like Canada, Japan is strongly committed to the rules-based international order and is increasingly worried about the actions of disruptive great powers. Unlike in Canada, however, Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted some fundamental rethinking of Japan’s security orientation. Japan’s 2022 National Security Strategy, expedited because of Russia's aggression, is charting a path for Japan to become a more consequential regional military power. Over the last two decades, Japan’s security orientation has evolved considerably from the strict limits placed on the country’s use of force by its post-Second World War constitution. Japan is now committed to act more broadly in support of the collective self-defence of allies, engage in defence capacity building in the Indo-Pacific, and strengthen defence and security ties not only with its key American ally, but also other partners, like Canada. Most notably, the strategy pledged a rapid and massive increase in Japanese defence spending to two per cent of gross domestic product in just a couple of years. Dr. David Perry is the president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. Photograph courtesy of CGAI Japan’s evolving security orientation presents Canada with a perfect opportunity to meaningfully increase its defence presence in the Indo-Pacific. Both Canada and Japan are committed to capacity building in the region—with a focus on Southeast Asia—to strengthen the ability of smaller powers to adapt to their own defence and security challenges. Our countries should look to do so co-operatively, with a view to strengthening our own defence links while building local capacity. In a similar vein, Canada and Japan have been progressively working to put in place some of the key plumbing and wiring to let our militaries work more closely together by signing logistics support agreements and developing an intelligence-sharing framework. These types of mechanisms underpin the defence alliances Canada has elsewhere through NATO and the Five Eyes community, and we should build on this momentum by expanding the scope of intelligence sharing as broadly as possible so we can each benefit from our insights into our great power neighbours. Further, we should iron out the mechanisms to facilitate greater military research and development co-operation and allow our respective defence industries to participate in our respective procurement projects. The Royal Canadian Navy, for instance, is looking to move forward with a project to buy new submarines, and Japan happens to make one of the world’s most advanced conventionally powered boats on the market. Beyond submarines, there is huge potential to make Japan a key regional maritime partner by working with both the Japanese Coast Guard and Maritime Self-Defense Force. Starting this year, the Navy will be sending three of its frigates to the region annually and exercises with the Japanese should be at the top of their to-do list. Encouraging an expansion of exchange, liaison, and staff college postings between the Japanese and Canadian militaries, focused initially on our maritime services, can better position Canada to understand the Indo-Pacific and cement a relationship with one of the region’s key defence partners. Dr. David Perry is the president of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and host of the Defence Deconstructed podcast. The Hill Times