Former Canadian Defense Minister Jason Kenney, in an exclusive interview with the Central News Agency, stated that Canada has pledged to double its defense spending within 10 years, despite the threats Canada faces being “just a small part of Taiwan’s.” Taiwan’s increase in defense budget to 3% of GDP is relatively moderate; Taiwan must demonstrate its determination for self-defense, not solely rely on U.S. security commitments.
Kenney attended the “Ketagalan Forum: 2025 Indo-Pacific Security Dialogue” on the 5th and granted an exclusive interview with the Central News Agency.
President Trump has urged allies to shoulder security responsibilities, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced in June that defense spending for the 2025 fiscal year will exceed 2% of GDP. Subsequently, at the NATO summit, Canada reaffirmed its commitment to reach the goal of 5% of GDP in defense spending by 2035.
During his tenure as Defense Minister in 2015, Kenney took a tough stance on national security. He admitted in the interview that while Trump and Canada held differing opinions, demanding allies to bear security costs is the correct decision. Due to the new reality shaped by the United States, Canada’s new government has made ambitious commitments, significantly increasing defense spending by more than double, even though the threats Canada faces are “just a small part of Taiwan’s.”
When asked if the increase in defense spending has faced domestic backlash, Kenney bluntly stated that there has been “absolutely none” in Canada; it is not a controversial issue there. While he is not suited to comment on Taiwanese politics, he found it “very hard to understand” the debates over Taiwan’s defense budget increase to 3% of GDP, especially with shared pressure from China.
Kenney emphasized that if Taiwan does not show determination for self-defense, it cannot expect any U.S. government to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese military invasion. The notion that “no matter how much money is spent, we cannot compete with China” is self-defeating – “are we supposed to let them destroy us?”
Serving as the Premier of Alberta, Canada from 2019 to 2022, Kenney publicly supported Taiwan throughout the past 25 years, despite frequent criticism from China. He values Taiwan’s and Canada’s shared democratic values, belief in human dignity and rights, stating, “We have a moral responsibility to stand with Taiwan.”
He commended Taiwan’s donation of 25,000 masks to Alberta in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, expressing his gratitude on Twitter. Kenney placed the flags of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and Canada side by side.
Regarding pressure from China due to his actions, Kenney indicated that he has always openly supported Taiwan, regardless of criticism from China. He believes that excluding Taiwan from international organizations is irresponsible, as even unrecognized countries should have a platform, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), which exists to protect human health, regardless of politics, borders, or diplomatic policies.
On the issue of linking the “One China Principle” and UN Resolution 2758 to exclude Taiwan from international participation, Kenney believes that cooperating with and acknowledging Taiwan as a de facto democratic country is in everyone’s interest. Taiwan is determined to defend its sovereignty, and its people are part of the global community.
While acknowledging that adopting a “One China Policy” in many countries may have diplomatic and legal consequences, Kenney believes it should not preclude wise, sensible, and practical cooperation with Taiwan. In a normal world, this should not be seen as an offense to the sovereignty of the People’s Republic of China.
Kenney stated that Taiwan is a peaceful democracy engaging in economic and trade relations with the world, not a threat. He expressed confusion as to why the People’s Republic of China is entangled in creating non-existent strategic challenges for itself.
(Source: Central News Agency)