Ottawa, ON – James Bezan, Conservative Shadow Minister for National Defence, and Eric Duncan, Conservative Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, sent the following letter to the Prime Minister on the resumption of defence coordination talks with the People’s Republic of China:
Dear Prime Minister,
Like millions of Canadians, we agreed with your clear-headed statement last year that China was “the biggest security threat” to our country. This made it all the more disappointing when you changed your position after the election, pursuing instead a “strategic partnership” with Beijing for a “New World Order.”
Now Canadians have learned that your government has resumed defence coordination talks with China: a forum that your predecessor walked away from back in 2018. Worse, you allowed no debate and forced Canadians to learn about it from Beijing’s state-controlled media. This is unacceptable, and we demand that you reverse course.
We will not stand up for our sovereignty or our values by working with a government that has kidnapped our people, interfered with our elections, dropped surveillance buoys in our Arctic waters, and set up secret police stations on Canadian soil.
We must not forget that China has repeatedly threatened the sovereignty of its neighbours, even challenging Canadian aircraft and vessels in the region.
While certain allies have had conversations with the Chinese military, none of them are talking about increasing cooperation. We sincerely hope that your government is not pursuing such a goal.
As His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, we are calling on you to put Canada first, stand up for our nation and its proud convictions, and to reject a “strategic partnership” and military coordination with the regime in Beijing.