Prime Minister Mark Carney’s ongoing Asian tour signals a welcome shift in Canada’s regional engagement. After six months in office, Carney appears to understand what his predecessors missed: Asian leaders value consistency and realism over grand gestures and progressive rhetoric.

The Indonesian free trade agreement and pursuit of an ASEAN-wide free trade agreement demonstrate concrete progress. Canada’s participation in sanctions invasion exercises and provision of dark vessel tracking technology to the Philippines shows we’re serious about regional security. Our Taiwan Strait transits and intelligence cooperation send the right signals about upholding the rules-based order.

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The elephant in the room remains China. From Seoul to Manila, our partners watch nervously as Ottawa signals renewed engagement with Beijing. They understand engagement is necessary, but worry Canada hasn’t internalized the hard lessons about Xi’s China—a regime that weaponizes economic ties and views compromise as weakness. Using China to hedge against Trump’s America is less clever realpolitik than it is dangerous naivety.

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Our Asian allies know the scorpion and frog fable well. They’ve felt China’s sting through economic coercion, territorial aggression, and broken promises. They want Canada as a serious Indo-Pacific partner, but one that approaches Beijing with clear-eyed realism about its authoritarian ambitions.

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To be taken seriously in Asia, Canada needs sustained cabinet-level visits, deeper security partnerships, and patient relationship-building. Most critically, we must demonstrate we understand that Xi’s China is not a benign alternative to American unpredictability—it’s an authoritarian power seeking regional dominance.

The region is watching. They want more Canada, but a Canada that deals with Asia as it is, not as progressive idealists wish it were. Carney has made a decent start. Now he needs to show up regularly, engage consistently, and above all, approach China with the hard-headed realism our partners expect.

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[–] grey_maniac@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

it's an authoritarian power seeking regional dominance

Umm, which one? China, or the US?

[–] pilferjinx@piefed.social 2 points 2 days ago

China is by far less belligerent than the US/Israel.

[–] Subscript5676@lemmy.ca 5 points 2 days ago

I think that’s making Carney seem like the only politician who’s playing this game; that’s not true at all. Many of the less developed Asian economies have become more reliant on China over the years, and IS playing the realpolitik game, and we’re only seeing Carney trying to play a similar game here.

Why am I saying that? If you look within many of those ASEAN countries, you’ll notice that China has been putting investments into and through their countries at various levels, and they’ve been happy (if reluctantly) to take them despite how many of them are in a conflict with China esp over the South China Sea.

Ideally, we shouldn’t feed the beast that would claw our faces, but this beast stands in the way of accessing various critical minerals and even technology (China is no longer playing catch up; they lead in certain sectors now), and Canada is in a position where we need to progress lest we be crushed by the times.

Western countries like the idealist approach to foreign policies, which is fine, but you can only play that game when you’re not being threatened. The so-called Global South has never had that privilege, and has thus generally resorted to more pragmatic approaches. Unfortunately for Canada, those days to being pure idealists is over, and it’s time to learn to be pragmatic, and how to play that game safely.

So it’s “Wake the fuck up” really. Those stable times are over, and we’re in some of the most turbulent times since WW2 and the Cold War, and given who’s fanning the flames, it’s only going to get worse from here. Fingers crossed that we keep voting in politicians that know what they’re doing, especially if we’ve not been doing that at all in the last several decades.

[–] DonkMagnum@lemy.lol 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

We are having trouble with the US because it has become an autocratic bully state. Maybe we shouldn't be rushing to jump into bed with another autocratic bully state.

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I don't want to be a partner with an democratical but imperial USA either

[–] DonkMagnum@lemy.lol 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

That's exactly my point. We are trading one bully regime for another.

[–] mrdown@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago

It's not like we are trying to improve the economical relation with China we are also improving it with other partners and build new relations with other countries so we don't have to depend on a single country. Right now we can't afford to fight the two biggest economical power at the same time. I would like to see Canada independent from both USA and China so we can be consistent and oppose any genocide or human right abuses . Right now we sound like hypocrites from one side we rightfully oppose China taking control of Taiwan and the genocide against Uyghurs yet we support Israel with weapons and economical ties for Israel to continue the war of extermination. We rightfully condemn human right abuses in Iran while not condemning human right abuses in Saudi Arabia and in Israeli jail. We are an ally and never condemned the UAE for arming RSF in Sudan

[–] TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I’m all on board what the article said but I failed to see an another option and the article didn’t bring one.

[–] Scotty@scribe.disroot.org 2 points 2 days ago (2 children)

I'm not sure whether I understand your comment. There are many options for partnerships in Asia, e.g., Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, and many others. Canada should strengthen ties with them imo.

[–] TribblesBestFriend@startrek.website 3 points 2 days ago

Canada is a Mining Heaven. None of the Asian countries have the Mining backbone Canada need if it want to flush the US down the toilet.

I’m all in to strengthen our relationship with Asian countries but without the US, China seems to be the major player

However they’re asshole-y like the US and we need to be on guard

[–] villasv@lemmy.ca 3 points 2 days ago

There are many options for partnerships in Asia, e.g., Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, and many others. Canada should strengthen ties with them imo.

That's also already happening, so the question on what to do differently remains