Canada facing renewed pressure from U.S. to meet NATO defence spending benchmark
The Liberal government is facing renewed political pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to increase defence spending to meet the benchmark established by NATO.
Robert O'Brien, the new U.S. national security adviser, said it is an "urgent priority" to get allies across the board to set aside military budgets that are equal to two per cent of the individual country's gross domestic product.
Speaking with journalists at the Halifax International Security Forum on Saturday, O'Brien rattled off a list of the world's flashpoints, including Iran and Venezuela, as well as traditional adversaries such as Russia and China.
"There are very serious threats to our freedom and our security," he said. "Canada made a pledge at [the 2014 NATO Summit in] Wales to spend two per cent. We expect our friends and our colleagues to live up to their commitments, and Canada is an honourable country; it's a great country."
O'Brien was a lawyer and former U.S. State Department hostage negotiator before being appointed this summer to the top security job. He noted the construction of the Canadian navy's new Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships, the first of which was on sea trials during the security forum, but said it could use some heavier armament given the potential warships and submarines it could face in the North.
"Canada has got a lot of real estate to defend," he said, noting that the Arctic is an area of interest for not only Russia, but China.
"As nice as it is to say we don't want to militarize the Arctic, other people are going to make that decision for Canada. And Canada needs to be in a position to defend itself, defend its values."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-pressure-us-defence-spending-1.5371352
The Liberal government is facing renewed political pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to increase defence spending to meet the benchmark established by NATO.
Robert O'Brien, the new U.S. national security adviser, said it is an "urgent priority" to get allies across the board to set aside military budgets that are equal to two per cent of the individual country's gross domestic product.
Speaking with journalists at the Halifax International Security Forum on Saturday, O'Brien rattled off a list of the world's flashpoints, including Iran and Venezuela, as well as traditional adversaries such as Russia and China.
"There are very serious threats to our freedom and our security," he said. "Canada made a pledge at [the 2014 NATO Summit in] Wales to spend two per cent. We expect our friends and our colleagues to live up to their commitments, and Canada is an honourable country; it's a great country."
O'Brien was a lawyer and former U.S. State Department hostage negotiator before being appointed this summer to the top security job. He noted the construction of the Canadian navy's new Arctic Offshore Patrol Ships, the first of which was on sea trials during the security forum, but said it could use some heavier armament given the potential warships and submarines it could face in the North.
"Canada has got a lot of real estate to defend," he said, noting that the Arctic is an area of interest for not only Russia, but China.
"As nice as it is to say we don't want to militarize the Arctic, other people are going to make that decision for Canada. And Canada needs to be in a position to defend itself, defend its values."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-pressure-us-defence-spending-1.5371352
