Today, the Honourable Bill Blair, Minister of National Defence had a bilateral meeting in Tokyo with Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru.
Minister Blair and Minister Kihara discussed defence and security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, and agreed it is more important than ever to boost defence ties between Canada and Japan to promote peace and stability.
To this end, Minister Blair announced that from September to October 2024, Canada will deploy a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CP-140 Aurora Air Detachment to Japan under Operation NEON, which is the CAF contribution to the multinational effort to support the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions imposed against the DPRK.
For a period of approximately four weeks, the CP-140 Aurora will monitor for suspected maritime sanctions evasion activities, in particular ship-to-ship transfers of fuel and other commodities banned by the UNSC. The RCAF CP-140 Aurora Air Detachment includes approximately 50 personnel.
In his bilateral meeting with Minister Kihara, Minister Blair highlighted Canada's commitment to advancing a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, and condemned the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) provocative and destabilizing actions in the region, including the continued testing and development of ballistic missiles. That country's growing relationship with Russia also provides a clear reminder that Indo-Pacific security is linked to security around the globe.
Minister Blair highlighted to Minister Kihara Canada's increasing military presence in the region, thanks to Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy. Canada now deploys three warships per year to the Indo-Pacific region, allowing the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) to conduct more activities and exercises with regional partners, including Japan.
This enables cooperation between the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Japanese Self-Defense Force through a range of activities such as the NOBLE series of Exercises in the South China Sea, and participation in Exercises ANNUALEX, KEEN SWORD and Pacific Vanguard. Most recently, from September 6-8, 2024, the RCN and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted Exercise KADEX in the Timor Sea, involving the Japanese destroyer JS Ariake (DD-109) and the Canadian frigate HMCS Vancouver (FFH 331). The Exercise focused on strengthening interoperability between the two navies in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Minister Blair thanked Minister Kihara for supporting the excellent collaboration between our two countries' Armed Forces and thanked him for regularly hosting Canadian personnel in Japan under Operations NEON and HORIZON.
Ministers Blair and Kihara also discussed Canada and Japan's continued collaboration in the space domain through the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) initiative and the Schriever Wargame. Minister Blair also welcomed Japan's efforts to advance the Women, Peace and Security agenda both at home and abroad, and the ministers discussed how the two countries can align their efforts.
As security challenges grow in the Indo-Pacific, the Canada-Japan partnership is ever more important, with Japan being Canada's only G7 partner in that region. The Ministers agreed that Canada-Japan defence relations will continue to grow and welcomed progress in increasing cooperation in key areas such as space, cyber and Special Forces. The Ministers agreed that both nations will continue to implement the Canada-Japan Action Plan for contributing to a free and open Indo-Pacific region, and that important progress is being made.
