Rare Meeting between Chinese and Canadian Defense Ministers; Canada Issues Warning to China

The Shangri-La Dialogue is currently underway, and a rare meeting between the defense ministers of China and Canada is taking place. The Canadian Defense Minister expressed “concern” over China’s actions as it is accused of interfering in elections.

Bill Blair, the Canadian Defense Minister, told Reuters that he expressed his “concern” when meeting with the Chinese Defense Minister, Wei Fenghe.

“I expressed concern about various forms of foreign interference, including interference in our institutions, interference in our elections, and collusion with Chinese diaspora and the behavior of our citizens.”

Domestic intelligence agencies in Canada stated in April that, following an official investigation, China had interfered in the country’s last two elections. Beijing denies these accusations.

Last year, Canada revealed that a family member of a Conservative Party MP in Hong Kong was targeted in an online disinformation campaign. An intelligence report pointed to a senior Chinese diplomat as the mastermind behind the incident. Subsequently, the Canadian government expelled the Chinese official from the country.

During the Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit, Blair met with Wei Fenghe. Blair mentioned that during the meeting, he also expressed concerns over China’s military activities around Taiwan since the January presidential elections.

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday, once again focused on the threats posed by China, emphasizing that the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Gaza conflict would not affect America’s security commitment to the Indo-Pacific.

In his address, Austin emphasized the importance of the Indo-Pacific alliance and outlined the actions the United States has taken over the past three years to strengthen the alliance and build small-scale security cooperation. He stated that Washington is “firmly committed” to the Indo-Pacific region.

As China continues to pose security threats to the Indo-Pacific region, the Canadian Defense Minister stated that Canada would increase its presence in Asia.