Taiwan will remain 'important' in Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy: Envoy

Taipei, Jan. 16 (CNA) Canada will maintain its Indo-Pacific strategy, even if the country elects a new government later this year, and Taiwan will remain a strong partner, Canada's representative to Taipei said Wednesday.

"My expectation is, Canada will, of course, continue with its Indo-Pacific strategy, and Taiwan's place in that Indo-pacific strategy will remain important," Jim Nickel, executive director of the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, told reporters.

"As described in the strategy itself now, we will continue with our strong partnership with Taiwan," he said at a media event in Taipei, when asked about a potential change of government later this year and how that might affect his country's relations with Taiwan.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced earlier this month that he was stepping down as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and would remain as prime minister in a caretaker capacity only until the party selected a new leader.

The party's nationwide process of choosing a new leader is expected to conclude on March 9, while Canada's general elections are mandated to be held on or before Oct. 20.

According to the latest public opinion polls, the Conservative Party of Canada currently holds a significant lead over the Liberal Party.

According to the Canadian government's Indo-Pacific strategy, Canada will invest resources in deepening engagement with free and democratic partners in the Indo-Pacific, including Taiwan, and will oppose unilateral actions that threaten the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

"China is an increasingly disruptive global power," the Canadian government says in the policy document that was released in November 2022.

Canada will balance its approach to China with diversified investments in regional relationships, including working with Indo-Pacific partners to push back against any unilateral actions that threaten the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and the East and South China Seas, the document states.

It mentions Taiwan multiple times, saying that Canada will maintain its multifaceted engagement with Taiwan and will continue to foster economic and people-to-people ties with Taiwan while supporting Taiwan's resilience.

Meanwhile, Nickel said Wednesday that Taiwan would be a good addition to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which it has been trying to join.

When Canada was chair of the 2024 CPTPP Commission, there were "very good conversations about all the applicants to the CPTPP, including Taiwan," he said, when asked by reporters to comment on the issue.

Nickel said Canada is very pleased that Taiwan remains interested and committed to joining the regional trade bloc.

"Canada believes that Taiwan would be make a very good addition to the CTPPP, given Taiwan's commitment to rules-based trade, and of course, the high value that Taiwanese industry contributes to the global economy," he said.

During an annual CPTPP summit in Vancouver last November, the members of the trade bloc failed to reach an agreement to initiate an accession process for Taiwan or China.

The CPTPP members, however, decided to launch the process for Costa Rica, which had applied in August 2022 to join the bloc, a year after Taiwan and China did.

China applied for CPTPP membership about a week earlier than Taiwan.

The CPTPP is one of the biggest trade blocs in the world, representing around 15 percent of the global economy.

It currently has 12 members -- Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.