Canada’s Indo-Pacific strategy benefits the Philippines

The Indo-Pacific region is now of supreme geopolitical importance to the world not only because it is the reigning driver of economic growth, but more so because it is the flashpoint for armed conflict among superpowers. The Philippines sits in the middle of it all.

That said, strengthening ties and deepening alliances with Indo-Pacific nations are top priorities for Canada. Last November, the government of Canada released its 10-year Indo-Pacific Strategy. It is a comprehensive road map on how the Canadian government is to engage with the Indo-Pacific nations as we move forward.

The Canadian government has committed $2.2 billion to realize its engagement initiatives with Indo-Pacific nations, the largest commitment it has made so far. Its Indo-Pacific Strategy was ratified by no less than 21 departments and agencies, the Canadian Parliament and the Prime Minister himself. Mind you, neither South America, Africa nor the European Union has an over-arching strategy, let alone a financial commitment of this magnitude. This exemplifies the importance of the Indo-Pacific to Canada.

The Indo-Pacific consists of ASEAN, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, South Korea, India, Japan, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, China, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and the 14 Pacific Island Countries. Collectively, the region comprises 50 percent (and rising) of global GDP and 65 percent of the world’s population. It also accounts for 50 percent of greenhouse emissions. Certainly, the opportunities for positive engagement are vast and wide.

Among all Indo-Pacific countries, the Philippines is among the top three nations with the deepest engagements with Canada. There are more than a million Canadians of Filipinos ancestry, making them the third largest ethnic group in Canada. Trade between both countries stands at about $3.5 billion annually, for which the Philippines enjoys a surplus. Canadian firms like Sunlife, Manulife, Telus, VOXDATA and CanadaDirect are well entrenched in the Philippines. So entwined are both countries that the Canadian embassy in Manila is the 4th largest in the world, following Washington DC, Beijing and Delhi. With ongoing expansion, the embassy is likely to be the third largest soon.

Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy covers five crucial spheres. These include promoting peace and security; expanding trade, investments and supply chain resilience; deepening people-to-people engagement; ensuring environmental sustainability and establishing Canada as a strategic and reliable partner. Let me dive into it one by one.

Promoting peace, resilience and security: The stability of the Indo-Pacific region is essential to the wider rules-based order of the world.

To strengthen its contribution to peace and stability, Canada has committed $720 million to increase its military engagement via deployment of military assets; to strengthen the defense architecture of the region and expand military capacities; to mitigate behaviors that threaten regional security; to ensure respect of international laws, especially UNCLOS; to build relationships with law enforcement agencies; to combat disinformation and threats to democracy; to ensure stronger border and cyber security; to protect against theft of data, intellectual property and technologies and to enhance resilience and preparedness.

Expanding trade, investment and supply chain resilience: Canada is investing $244 million to promote and expand trade and partnerships; to increase innovation research; to promote inclusive economic growth; to promote supply chain resilience; to support women entrepreneurs; to establish an agri-food office for the region (preferably and hopefully, in the Philippines); to diversify and expand economic partnerships through the ASEAN-Canada Trade Gateway; the expansion of CPTPP and the Canada-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement.

Connecting people: Canada will build on its deep, long-standing people-to-people ties in the Indo-Pacific region. It will do this by investing $261.7 million to bolster visa-processing capacities; to increase international assistance; to enhance educational and research exchanges; through cultural diplomacy; through the protection of human rights and to support indigenous peoples.

Build a green, sustainable future: Canada recognizes the importance of the Indo-Pacific in the global fight against climate change and environmental degradation. As a reliable energy security partner, Canada will invest $903 million to support the region’s transition to a sustainable and low-carbon future that is resilient to climate-related natural disasters, while contributing to high-quality and sustainable regional infrastructure.

Canada will make itself an active, engaged and reliable partner to Indo-Pacific countries: It will strengthen its regional diplomatic engagement and work with partners to advance shared values and objectives. It will increase its diplomatic capacity in the region and appoint a Special Envoy to advance Canadian objectives more effectively.

Canada has appropriated $137 million to increase its diplomatic presence in the region. Diplomatic presence will be established in Hawaii and a new embassy will be built in Fiji. It will increase cooperation towards shared priorities and make ASEAN a strategic partner.

In summary, Canada seeks to be a friend, ally and reliable partner to Indo-Pacific countries as it pushes for peace, inclusive prosperity, rules-based engagements among nations and a sustainable green future.

However, this multibillion-dollar initiative is by no means “free aid.” Countries which stand to benefit from these initiatives are those that attain critical thresholds in its record on human rights, money laundering, cybercrime, terrorism, respect for intellectual property and use of disinformation towards political objectives.

As mentioned earlier, the Philippines is in pole position to benefit the most out of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. After all, strong people-to-people ties already exist.   Investment and corporate partnerships continue to expand. Trade is on an upswing. Diplomatic relations are long-standing (75 years in 2024). Above all, we share common values such as democracy, a rules-based international order, free trade, respect for human rights, respect for the environment and a rules-based management of oceans.

We must all appreciate the depth and breadth of Canada’s initiative since the Philippines can benefit enormously from it. Engagement with the Canadian government is key and our leaders will do well to pursue as many avenues of cooperation as possible.

*      *      *

Email: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @aj_masigan