Canada's Warmongering in the Asia Pacific
Stepped-Up Involvement in War Preparations
Canada's warmongering and genocidal foreign policy is a matter for serious concern. From September 9 to 14, Bill Blair, Canada's Minister of Defence, visited the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan. With Canada being an integral part of the U.S. war machine, Blair's visit was part of U.S. calculations in the Asia Pacific, especially focused on political, economic and military contention with China. Another main aim is to target the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), to remove it as a block to U.S. aims to dominate the entire Korean Peninsula and use it as a base to threaten China and Russia.
To justify its presence, Canada presents a fraudulent account of history to claim it is part of the international rule of law upheld by the UN Charter. A Department of National Defence (DND) press release concerning Blair's September visit to Asia states, "Canada has been involved in the security of the Korean Peninsula since Canada's participation in the Korean War in 1950. Since that time, Canada has maintained a permanent presence in the United Nations Command to uphold the Armistice Agreement."
Not a word about the U.S.-led aggression against the Korean people in the 1950-53 war, or how that war was conducted using carpet bombing, germ warfare and by committing horrendous crimes against the Korean people. And so too since then, the U.S. has refused to sign a peace treaty and Canada is also endangering peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Canada's use of the term Indo-Pacific is a contrivance meant to extend the area beyond the Asia Pacific. The call for a "free and open Indo-Pacific region" has come into vogue amongst NATO countries to couch their nefarious aims. Blair's visit to these two countries is part of U.S. plans to dominate the region, which includes Operation Horizon, "the Canadian Armed Force's mission to implement the defence elements of Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy by increasing Canada's military presence in the region, allowing for more engagement, cooperation, and collaboration."[1]
Japan, like the ROK, is a NATO partner, as well as home base to the U.S. 7th Fleet which prowls the Asia Pacific.
Within these machinations, the governments of the ROK and Japan, whose peoples have the misfortune of paying for 25,000 and 55,000 U.S. troops on their soil respectively, are increasingly being called on by the U.S. to join with it to formalize a tripartite war alliance akin to an Asian NATO.
Involvement in Korean Peninsula
Far from contributing to peace on the Korean Peninsula, Canada's involvement in Korea continues its membership in the U.S.-led alliance that brutalized the Korean people after World War II and divided their nation. This alliance continues to be the greatest threat to peace in the region.
During his time in Korea, Blair's activities included a visit to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). He also met with Canadian Armed Forces personnel serving with the "United Nations Command" (UNC). The U.S.-led UNC was established during the Korean War to give a fig leaf of legitimacy to U.S. aggression when the war began in 1950, and it continues to serve this purpose.
Blair was also there on behalf of arms makers, specifically to welcome the purchase of 40 Canadian-built Bell helicopters by the ROK military, and in that vein, "met with ROK Deputy Minister of Defense Sung Il to discuss opportunities for further industrial collaboration."
On September 10, Blair, along with his Korean counterpart Kim Yong-hyun, co-hosted the second annual ROK-UNC Member Countries Defence Ministerial Meeting. This meeting was an exercise in disinformation and historical fraud, for purposes of continuing the crimes against the Korean people and the division of the Korean nation.
The 17 countries that make up UNC issued an outrageous joint statement from this meeting that totally contravenes the aim and spirit of the July 27, 1953 Armistice Agreement.[2] The U.S. was forced to sign this agreement after its occupation of Korea was nearly defeated by the Korean People's Army and Chinese volunteers. The aim of the agreement was for the DPRK and the U.S. to sign a permanent peace treaty to officially end the war. Instead, the U.S. has sought revenge against the DPRK for more than 70 years, while imposing its troops on the Koreans living in the ROK.
The joint statement says of the agreement, "The UNC Member States reaffirmed that the spirit and commitments of the 1953 Armistice Agreement continues to be necessary for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula today. In particular, the defense ministers and representatives acknowledged the roles of UNC, UNC Member States, and the ROK as the host nation in managing, implementing, respecting, and enforcing the Armistice Agreement. They concurred that the Armistice Agreement is an effective mechanism for maintaining the cessation of hostilities and ensuring peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula."
No mention is made of the refusal of the U.S. to negotiate in good faith on any front and its stepping up of war preparations against the DPRK, and that these are the source of instability and danger of war on the Korean Peninsula.
Koreans denounce the UNC and call
for its dismantling outside the UNC meeting in Seoul,
September
10, 2024.
|
Protest
at Seoul Security Dialogue opposes ROK-Japan
military
acquisition and
cross-servicing agreement. On September 11, Minister Blair addressed the Seoul Defence Dialogue, where he spouted nonsense about the DPRK's nuclear deterrent. As if Canada has the right to interfere in the affairs of the peoples of the countries which fall within the ambit of the Asia Pacific, Blair arrogantly lectured the DPRK on which countries it can and cannot have relations with. Similarly, the DND press release also states that Blair "expressed concern at China's efforts to undermine freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, including its dangerous and destabilizing actions against Philippine vessels."
Canada's role to ensure "freedom of navigation in the South China Sea" is evident in Blair's hypocritical announcement later in his trip "that from September to October 2024, Canada will deploy a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CP-140 Aurora Air Detachment to Japan under Operation NEON, which is the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) contribution to the multinational effort to monitor the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions imposed against the DPRK."
Operation NEON, Canada's contribution to a naval blockade against the DPRK, lacks any basis in international law and is tantamount to piracy on the high seas.
Relations with Japan
On September 13, Canada's Minister of Defence Bill Blair met with Japan's Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru to "discuss defence and security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region, operational cooperation between Canada and Japan, and progress on initiatives under the Canada-Japan Action Plan for contributing to a free and open Indo-Pacific region."
This plan dates back to October 2022, not long before Canada released its "Indo-Pacific Strategy" at the end of November 2022. Covering up the fact that the U.S./NATO war in Ukraine is caused by U.S./NATO expansion to threaten and isolate Russia, Canada's strategy was touted as necessary due to a "sense of urgency that Russia's aggression against Ukraine would have serious and enormous repercussions not only for Europe but also for the international community as a whole, and undermine universal values such as freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, as well as the foundation of the rules-based international order."[3]
Blair's trip also clearly exposed the push for the aggressive NATO alliance to have "interoperability" with the militaries of Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK). This is a contradiction with the pacifist content of Japan's constitution which says that its military is only to be deployed for self-defence. It shows that the U.S./NATO have no qualms about collaborating with the Japanese militarists, who have never shown remorse for the brutal crimes of the Japanese Imperial Army throughout Asia.
Canada's Department of National Defence press release states:
"Ministers Blair and Kihara welcomed the growing cooperation between our countries' militaries. This summer, the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force participated in the U.S.-led Exercise PACIFIC VANGUARD alongside the ROK and U.S. navies. In addition to engaging in high-end warfighting scenarios to enhance their skills and interoperability in maritime, anti-submarine and air operations, PACIFIC VANGUARD is an opportunity for like-minded nations to strengthen personal and professional relationships with some of our closest partners. Most recently, from September 6-8, the RCN and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force conducted Exercise KADEX in the Timor Sea, which focused on strengthening interoperability between our two navies."
Defence Minister Blair's visit to the ROK and Japan underscores the need for Canadians and Quebeckers to oppose Canada's role in U.S.-led warmongering in the Asia Pacific. They are stoking conflict to serve U.S. hegemonic aims that threaten the security and well-being of the peoples of the region and of the world.
Besides making amends for Canada's role in the Korean war and its ongoing role in the division of Korea, the anti-war organizing of Canadians and Quebeckers is a contribution to world peace. We share a common struggle with the peoples of Korea and Japan, who are also striving for a world based on peaceful relations, mutual benefit and friendship. They are fighting to extricate their countries from the U.S. war machine.
September 19, 2024 protest
involving 2,700 people in Tokyo, Japan to oppose the war
policies of
the Japanese government, the latest of ongoing actions
held on
the 19th
of each month.
Notes
1. See "Operation Horizon," Department of National Defence.
2. Seventeen countries presently make up the UNC: Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Philippines, Thailand, Türkiye, the UK and the U.S.
3. See "Canada-Japan Action Plan for contributing to a free and open Indo-Pacific region," Government of Canada Backgrounder, October 20, 2022.
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 43 - October 14, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/TS54437.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca