麻豆传媒

Skip to main content

Canada and Australia, eyeing China, signal more military cooperation

Canada's Minister of National Defence Bill Blair, left, and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles hold a meeting at HMCS Discovery, a Royal Canadian Navy Reserve division, in Vancouver, on Thursday, August 8, 2024.(Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press) Canada's Minister of National Defence Bill Blair, left, and Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles hold a meeting at HMCS Discovery, a Royal Canadian Navy Reserve division, in Vancouver, on Thursday, August 8, 2024.(Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)
Share
OTTAWA -

Canada and Australia, expressing alarm at China's claims over the disputed waters of the South China Sea, on Thursday said they would increase their military and defence industry cooperation.

Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said security in the Indo-Pacific region was being challenged "in a number of significant and difficult ways" and accused Beijing of trying to reshape the international system to advance its own interests.

Blair, speaking after Vancouver talks with Australian counterpart Richard Marles, said the two nations needed to work more closely together to maintain order in the Indo-Pacific.

"We have agreed to pursue closer collaboration by enhancing the interoperability of our armed forces and by deepening our operational cooperation," he told reporters.

The two said they were concerned about what they called Beijing's excessive maritime claims in the South China Sea as well as Chinese military activity around Taiwan.

The Philippines' armed forces and their counterparts from Canada, United States, and Australia this week held joint maritime exercises in the South China Sea.

"Our cooperation is based on seeking to deter. We are absolutely about working with each other so that we can avoid conflict," said Marles, referring to his talks with Blair.

Marles flew to Vancouver from Washington after Wednesday talks in which Australia agreed to begin co-manufacturing guided weapons with the United States next year.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Sandra Maler)

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

A Manitoba man convicted of murder 50 years ago has been acquitted. Clarence Woodhouse was found guilty in 1974 of fatally beating and stabbing a restaurant worker in downtown Winnipeg.

An Ontario child has died after coming in contact with a rabid bat, a health official confirmed on Wednesday.

Local Spotlight

The grave of a previously unknown Canadian soldier has been identified as a man from Hayfield, Man. who fought in the First World War.

Moving into the second week of October, the eastern half of Canada can expect some brisker fall air to break down from the north

What does New Westminster's t蓹m蓹sew虛tx史 Aquatic and Community Centre have in common with a historic 68,000-seat stadium in Beijing, an NFL stadium and the aquatics venue for the Paris Olympics? They've all been named among the world's most beautiful sports venues for 2024.

The last living member of the legendary Vancouver Asahi baseball team, Kaye Kaminishi, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, surrounded by family. He was 102 years old.

New data from Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley shows a surge in supply and drop in demand in the region's historically hot real estate market.

On Saturday night at her parents鈥 home in Delaware, Ont. the Olympic bronze medallist in pole vault welcomed everyone who played a role in getting her to the podium in Paris.

A tale about a taxicab hauling gold and sinking through the ice on Larder Lake, Ont., in December 1937 has captivated a man from that town for decades.

When a group of B.C. filmmakers set out on a small fishing boat near Powell River last week, they hoped to capture some video for a documentary on humpback whales. What happened next blew their minds.

A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.

Stay Connected