3 avril 2020 | Local, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

Canada, NATO allies discuss COVID-19 response in face of world security issues

OTTAWA — Canada and its NATO allies wrestled Thursday with responding to the COVID-19 crisis while reining in potential new Russian mayhem-making and helping war-torn Iraq and Afghanistan.

The discussion unfolded via secure video links — a first in the alliance's seven decades — among the alliance's foreign ministers, including Canada's Francois-Philippe Champagne, as well as NATO's political and military chiefs.

They discussed the need to combat “disinformation” as well as providing support to various partners, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the European Union, the alliance said in a post-meeting statement.

Canada is leading NATO's military training mission in Iraq and has troops in Latvia as part of the deterrence efforts against Russia, which breached Europe's border by annexing part of Ukraine in 2014. Thursday's meeting was also looking at ways to further support the non-NATO countries of Ukraine and Georgia, the alliance said.

A senior Canadian official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions, said despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada's priority is for the alliance to keep its eyes on the challenges already on its plate before the outbreak.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is a test for all of us and highlights the crucial role NATO continues to play,” Champagne said in a statement.

The competing challenges were reflected in the declaration NATO released following the morning talks, which were to include Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Tod D. Wolters.

“Even as we do the absolute maximum to contain and then overcome this challenge, NATO remains active, focused and ready to perform its core tasks: collective defence, crisis management, and co-operative security,” the communique said.

David Perry, a defence analyst, said NATO faces some of its own health challenges, among them the fact that the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier is out of commission because of a virus outbreak, while Poland's army chief tested positive last month.

“How much of the alliance is actually fighting fit is changing pretty fast, negatively,” said Perry, a Canadian Global Affairs Institute vice-president. “It's improbable other ships or assets aren't already impacted.”

The NATO communique said the alliance is airlifting medical supplies around the world, providing people and goods and “vital equipment from military and civilian sources, and harnessing our medical, scientific, and technological knowledge” to deal with the pandemic.

“Allies are also working together to ensure public access to transparent, timely, and accurate information, which is critical to overcoming this pandemic and to combating disinformation,” it said.

The statement made no direct mention of Russia, but it affirmed that the alliance's “ability to conduct our operations and assure deterrence and defence against all the threats we face is unimpaired.”

A day earlier, Stoltenberg said in Brussels that the alliance had made the necessary adjustments to address Russian military manoeuvres close to NATO's borders. Russian planes have flown close to Canadian and American airspace in the Arctic recently, for instance.

Karlis Eihenbaums, Latvia's ambassador to Canada, said the pandemic has done nothing to stop the “wars and tensions” NATO was already dealing with.

“We can even see that there are some who are using this challenging time to play their cynicism in full and to use this pandemic for their spreading of propaganda and disinformation. In essence, they are playing with people's lives because disinformation can kill,” said Eihenbaums.

“We are still receiving report after report of a war going on in Europe, as attacks against Ukraine never stopped.”

Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine's ambassador to Canada, said offers by Russia to send medics and supplies to Italy mask a malevolent intent.

He said that amounts to “humanitarian wars, or humanitarian special operations” on Russia's part. The Kremlin has denounced criticism that it is using the crisis for political gain.

“Russia has the experience of lying on an industrial scale, and also interfering into other nations' lives with their information tools,” said Shevchenko.

“It's something we know so well from our Ukrainian experience, and it's something that Canadians should be concerned about as well.”

Thursday's meeting also looked at stepping up the NATO training mission in Iraq and strengthening the alliance's partnerships in the Middle East, North Africa and Afghanistan, the alliance said in a statement today.

The meeting was the first for the alliance's newest member, North Macedonia, which joined last Friday, expanding NATO's ranks to 30 countries.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 2, 2020.

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/canada-nato-allies-discuss-covid-19-response-in-face-of-world-security-issues

Sur le même sujet

  • Minister Blair meets with Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz

    18 décembre 2023 | Local, Sécurité

    Minister Blair meets with Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz

    Minister Blair meets with Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz

  • Procurement minister defends rule change for F-35 as necessary for competition

    31 mai 2019 | Local, Aérospatial

    Procurement minister defends rule change for F-35 as necessary for competition

    The Canadian Press, Lee Berthiaume OTTAWA — The federal procurement minister is defending the government's plan to loosen procurement rules for the F-35 stealth fighter in the face of questions and concerns from companies that make competing jets. Speaking at the annual Cansec arms-trade show Thursday, Public Procurement Minister Carla Qualtrough insisted the move is needed for a robust competition to replace Canada's aging CF-18s. That competition is expected to result in a $19-billion deal for a new fleet of fighters. “The innovations and modifications we are adopting will enable participation from all eligible suppliers while applying the same rules to everyone on a level playing field,” Qualtrough said during a breakfast speech. “This is a complex process. As complex as any the federal government has ever conducted.” The government's plan involves lifting a long-standing requirement that companies legally commit to putting some of their contract money back into Canadian industry if they win a defence competition. The proposal followed U.S. complaints that the requirement violated an agreement Canada signed in 2006 to become one of nine partner countries in the development of the F-35, which is being built by Lockheed Martin. While partner countries can buy F-35s at a discount, they must also contribute money to the planes' development — in Canada's case, more than $500 million to date. Partners are also forbidden from requiring economic benefits as a condition for buying the plane. Companies in each partner country instead compete for contracts associated with the aircraft, with Canadian industry having won $1.5 billion so far. But representatives from Boeing and Saab, which make the Super Hornet and Gripen fighter jets, respectively, said Wednesday the previous policy worked well in ensuring defence contracts benefit Canada economically. And they warned abandoning the requirement that bidders commit to reinvesting in Canada could hurt the country's aerospace industry, which would in turn make it more difficult for the military to support its new jets. Industry sources say representatives for the Eurofighter Typhoon, the fourth aircraft expected in the competition aside from the F-35, Super Hornet and Gripen, have expressed similar sentiments. Qualtrough, offering the government's most extensive defence of the plan to date, insisted that despite letting bidders choose not to make contractual obligations to re-invest, the government is committed to ensuring the largest economic benefits possible. Under the new process, bidders can still guarantee that they will re-invest back into Canada if their jet wins the competition and get full points — which is the likely approach for Boeing, Saab and Eurofighter. Those like Lockheed Martin that can't make such a commitment will be penalized and asked to establish “industrial targets,” lay out plans for achieving those targets and sign a non-binding agreement promising to make all efforts to achieve them. “No one should misunderstand this: our government remains committed as strongly as ever to the (industrial benefit) policy in this competition,” Qualtrough said during her speech. “We're getting the fighter jet for the RCAF's needs, at the right price, and with the right economic benefits for Canadians.” The government has said it plans to launch the long-overdue formal competition to select Canada's next fighter jet in July, nearly four years after the Liberals were elected in 2015 on a promise to hold an immediate competition. Companies are expected to submit their bids next winter, with a formal contract signed in 2022. The first plane won't arrive until at least 2025. –Follow @leeberthiaume on Twitter https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/procurement-minister-defends-rule-change-for-f-35-as-necessary-for-competition

  • Aperçu de Quantum 2030

    27 mars 2023 | Local, C4ISR

    Aperçu de Quantum 2030

    Le Plan de mise en œuvre de la stratégie des sciences et technologies quantiques du ministère de la Défense nationale (MDN) et des Forces armées canadiennes (FAC), connu sous le nom de Quantum 2030, est une feuille de route pour faire en sorte que le MDN et les FAC soient bien préparés au potentiel perturbateur des technologies quantiques pour la défense et la sécurité au cours des sept prochaines années. Les technologies quantiques présentent un potentiel militaire : par exemple, pour le positionnement, la navigation et la synchronisation lorsque les systèmes mondiaux de positionnement (GPS) ne fonctionnent pas; pour des capteurs permettant de détecter les menaces chimiques, biologiques, radiologiques et nucléaires (CBRN); pour les communications sécurisées et le décodage; ainsi que pour les matériaux de pointe et la recherche médicale. La recherche et développement sur les technologies émergentes et les contre-mesures permettront au MDN et aux FAC de se préparer à être parmi les premiers utilisateurs, à travailler avec les Alliés et à conserver leur avance sur les adversaires potentiels. Le Plan de mise en œuvre comprend cinq appels à l’action pour le MDN et les FAC : Déterminer qui devrait utiliser les technologies quantiques au sein du MDN et des FAC; Former le personnel afin qu’il ait une compréhension de base du quantique, c’est-à-dire une littératie quantique; Harmoniser les investissements dans le domaine quantique à l’échelle du MDN et des FAC; Accéder à une technologie de pointe au moyen de programmes d’innovation; Faire appel à l’industrie et au milieu universitaire. Quantum 2030 établit quatre technologies quantiques prometteuses ayant des applications dans le domaine de la défense et de la sécurité et dresse un plan de sept ans pour développer des prototypes prêts à être mis à l’essai sur le terrain d’ici 2030. Radar à amélioration quantique Détection et télémétrie par ondes lumineuses (LiDAR) à amélioration quantique Algorithmes quantiques pour la défense et la sécurité Réseaux quantiques Le plan de sept ans se déroule en trois phases : recrutement et formation de personnel; développement scientifique; essais sur le terrain et démonstrations. Quantum 2030 s’appuie sur la Stratégie de sciences et technologies quantiques du MDN et des FAC, publiée en janvier 2021, et est conforme à la Stratégie quantique nationale du gouvernement du Canada, publiée en janvier 2023. Liens connexes : Stratégie de sciences et technologies quantiques du MDN et des FAC Stratégie quantique nationale https://www.canada.ca/fr/ministere-defense-nationale/organisation/rapports-publications/apercu-quantum-2030.html

Toutes les nouvelles