Mr. Chair, our friends, partners and allies in the Asia-Pacific and Indo-Pacific region are certainly interested in what is happening in the north, particularly those in the North Pacific, Japan and, to a certain extent, Korea.
I am happy to say we have excellent relations with those two countries. I spent a year plus serving in Korea, and I recently hosted my Japanese counterpart for a visit to Canada.
Japan's most recently released national security strategy and national defence strategy mentions Canada as a partner. In terms of those allies, those friends, those partners, it is very, very important that we maintain and further develop that relationship.