National Defence committee  Ms. Mathyssen, I'd like to respond briefly. I think this is a good example of where Canada has a natural specialization and interest in the Arctic. Along with the Scandinavian countries, for instance, it's a natural area. The Chinese are becoming increasingly active in the Arctic, as well as the Russians.

National Defence committee  If I could say this briefly, the big dynamic that is going to happen.... Only the Americans, the Taiwanese and maybe the Japanese and the Australians will be able to meaningfully contribute to the most pressing scenario in the Pacific, which is Taiwan. I don't think there's a realistic prospect of Canada making a material contribution.

National Defence committee  We have seen that Russia and China are more aligned today than they have been probably since the period of Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin. It is, frankly, a catastrophe of American and western statecraft that we have reached this point, but this is where we are right now. My view, and I've expressed it in The Wall Street Journal today, in case you're interested, is that we must prioritize Taiwan.

National Defence committee  I would, absolutely. Yes.

National Defence committee  I certainly don't worry about Canada. What I would say, Madam, with all due respect—and I honour Canada's incredibly storied history in the world wars and so forth, and the Cold War—is that more Canadian effort in the defence space and more contributions to collective defence would be most welcome.

National Defence committee  Absolutely, Madam Vice-Chair. I mean, the way I would put it is that if the United States is worried about China dominating Asia, everybody else, including Canada, should be very worried, because if we are concerned and we're 20% to 25% of global GDP, the Chinese will have immense leverage over everyone else.

National Defence committee  Mr. Chairman, Madam Vice-Chairs and members of the standing committee, thank you very much for the opportunity to testify before you. Especially as an American, it's a great honour to appear before this committee. What's probably most useful for you, given my background and expertise, is for me to lay out the American perspective in as brief a context as I can.