A Canadian naval turn to East Asia in the making? Interests, expectations and challenges
There is a growing chorus from Canada's strategic community to include political-security aspects into Ottawa's renewed interactions with East Asia, moving beyond an exclusive economic orientation. As the rise of East Asia emerges as the most important geopolitical feature of the international system, Canada, like its allies have already begun, should shift strategic focus it is argued. In particular, a renewed and sustained naval presence necessitating a naval rebalance westwards is promoted as an effective contribution towards regional stability and bolstering Canada's credentials. Wanting to extend the discussion beyond the current focus on interests and benefits received, this paper argues the impacts to the Navy as an institution must also be brought into the debate. A strategic and operational refocus towards East Asia shall involve more than just repositioning ships from one coast to another to include a wide spectrum of changes needed and compromises made in terms of inter-service relations, funding, capabilities, missions, interactions with new partners, an intimate understanding of the region, and the almost certain reduction of military operations from other theatres. Inclusion of these matters will create a more holistic assessment of the feasibility and effectiveness of such an option to support both regional security and Canada's interests at large.