National Defence committee  I'm sorry. Just so I can understand the question, Chair, it's about the trade dimension...?

National Defence committee  One of the strategic objectives is to improve trade, investment and supply chain resilience. In fact, it's one of the most robust and dynamic parts of the strategy. We have an agenda of team Canada trade missions to the region. The Prime Minister recently announced five more during his time there, I think, in addition to support for Canadian exporters through programs like CanExport, for which we're seeing very high levels of interest from the Canadian private sector.

National Defence committee  Chair, I can start, if that's agreeable. The strategy is in fact fluid. As I mentioned earlier, it has a 10-year horizon, but it also has a kind of midpoint at five years, where we will do a full evaluation of the strategy and make the necessary adjustments. There's also a robust governance structure in place that goes all the way from director level within the bureaucracy to the deputy minister level.

National Defence committee  You are correct in the observation that the views and actions of the region are complex and certainly diverse. I can't comment on their particular policy choices. However, from the Canadian perspective, I can say that we have been unrelenting in making our case on what's happened in Ukraine, on the importance of the rule of law and on the important role the international community plays in helping others make their decisions on Ukraine.

National Defence committee  It's hard to assess what impact advocacy has on others, but I can say that persistence is important in the advocacy game. We keep making our point. We keep trying to make sure, to important multilateral bodies like the G20 and to the UN General Assembly this week in New York, that others will clearly understand our perspective on Ukraine.

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question. In foreign policy terms, Canada certainly monitors the deliberations and outcomes in all sorts of international forums, including what recently took place at the BRICS, because it has an impact, obviously, on Canadian interests, but I don't have any particular assessment to share with the committee on the outcomes of those discussions.

National Defence committee  Yes. I can touch on that. Within the strategy itself, there was significant funding for Canada's international assistance, which certainly has a human rights-based approach in its implementation. This is always “in addition to”; it's not just the new funded initiatives but the regular work that Canada's network of missions is doing across the region, where they are very forward-leaning on human rights issues in working through local and international organizations.

National Defence committee  To start with the diplomatic answer, Canada, of course, pursues a one China policy. That dictates our interactions with Taiwan in all respects. We do have regular unofficial contacts with key members from Taiwan. On the question of future military.... I can't answer the question about their military capacity or procurement.

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question, Chair. Maybe I'll start with the strategy itself. One of its strategic objectives is for Canada to be a reliable, engaged and active partner in the region. That requires us to have that 10-year time horizon for the strategy. It really is intended to be the foundation to guide our strategic approach.

National Defence committee  Perhaps I can jump in and note that it's not entirely a DND effort on the cyber side. The funded initiative under the Indo-Pacific strategy on cyber included funding for Global Affairs, Public Safety, RCMP, CSE and DND as well, reflecting that whole-of-government approach on these issues.

National Defence committee  Thank you for the question. I'm Peter Lundy, director general of the Indo-Pacific strategy secretariat at Global Affairs Canada. On the diplomatic front, I think the general has outlined some of the recent successes. It was really a triumph of diplomacy over many years to get the strategic partnership with ASEAN across that particular finish line.