Banner

Should Canada increase its military involvement in the Indo-Pacific region?

February 15th, 2022

This is the issue debated in the January/February 22 issue of Legion Magazine, with Ernie Regehr arguing the “No” side and David Bercuson, of the University of Calgary’s Centre for Military, Security, and Strategic Studies, arguing “Yes.” 

Regehr argues that “de-escalating military tensions and halting the drift toward a Cold War with China are prerequisites for effectively addressing the Indo-Pacific region’s all-too-real security challenges….

“Military exercises like the Rim of the Pacific Exercise, which in 2020 involved about 500 CAF personnel and two frigates, are part of Canada’s engagement with the Indo-Pacific,…but it is the tempo of multilateral engagement, not military operations, that needs to increase. Patrols like the recent voyage of HMCS Winnipeg through the Taiwan Strait alongside a U.S. destroyer are neither destined nor designed to reduce tensions.

“Instead, diplomacy to promote strategic stability talks and build broad regional support for collective responses to Indo-Pacific security challenges is what will ultimately facilitate the stability on which the region’s security depends.”

The debate is part of the magazine’s “Face to Face” feature. To view the full debate, visit Legion Magazine through this link: Should Canada increase its military involvement in the Indo-Pacific region?