Recent hawkish voices in Canada over China’s territorial issues have revealed the country’s ambition for a greater role in global affairs, but also the lack of a steady China policy, according to Liu Dan, a scholar at the Center for Canadian Studies under the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, writing in an article published on the website of the Institute of Public Policy under the South China University of Technology.
The Canadian Senate reportedly passed a motion recently that condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea and called for Canada to play a leading role in the issue.
Committed to carrying on his father’s diplomatic ambitions for Canada to be a global leader, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is striving to fix the country’s previously conservative global image, Liu said. One very important step the prime minister took is to strengthen ties with the United Nations. In addition to efforts to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Trudeau’s multilateral diplomacy has expanded from climate to areas of security.
Such ambitions have pushed Canada to seek a greater presence on high-profile global issues, including the South China Sea issue and the North Korea nuclear crisis. Canada tends to stress the importance of international rules and organizations in a move to appear “fair and just,” according to the scholar.
Liu also attributes Canada’s hostile stance against China on a number of issues to the country’s lack of a steady and coherent China strategy, which has been subject mainly to the influence of the US. Therefore, while dealing with China-related issues, the country often fails to come up with decisions that could benefit both sides, Liu said.
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