Canada launches Indo-Pacific strategy to boost military and cyber security

Canada has launched its long-awaited Indo-Pacific strategy, outlining 1.7 billion US dollars in spending to boost military and cyber security in the region. It has also vowed to deal with a "disruptive" China while working with it on climate change and trade issues. The plan detailed in a 26-page document said Canada will tighten foreign investment rules to protect intellectual property and prevent Chinese state-owned enterprises from snapping up critical mineral supplies. 

Canada is seeking to deepen ties with a fast-growing Indo-Pacific region of 40 countries accounting for almost 50 trillion Canadian dollars in economic



activity. Four cabinet ministers at a news conference in Vancouver took turns detailing the new plan, saying the strategy was crucial for Canada's national security and climate as well as its economic goals.

The strategy plan says China is an increasingly disruptive global power.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government wants to diversify trade and economic ties that are overwhelmingly reliant on the United States. Official data for September show bilateral trade with China accounted for under seven percent of the total, compared to 68 percent for the United States.