China's Expanding Space And Arctic Reach Raises Western Concerns, Not Just Canada
As the world moves closer to The Matrix, China is moving closer to Star Wars. The country's drive to gain autonomy in critical technologies has pushed it deeper into space, the deep sea and the Arctic, according to a new article from the South China Morning Post.
After the Yinhe incident and later exclusion from Europe’s Galileo programme, Beijing built the BeiDou navigation system, now a 64-satellite network used over a trillion times daily. This move from dependence to autonomy now defines its national strategy. Recent five-year plans highlight deep-sea, polar and aerospace projects as “forward-looking and strategic,” and aim to make China a “major space power,” including an “ice Silk Road” to strengthen its polar role.
Analysts say China’s capabilities now rival global leaders. Li Hanming says “China’s space technology is at the same level as other leading players, such as the European Union, United States or Russia.”
BeiDou sits alongside other global navigation systems, and Tiangong mirrors the ISS. Commercial progress is rapid as well: LandSpace is testing a reusable first-stage rocket, prompting US worries. Brigadier General Brian Sidari warned it would be “concerning once they figure out that reusable lift,” since it could enable large satellite constellations. China’s Qianfan system has about 90 satellites but aims for 15,000 by 2030.
SCMP writes that China’s Arctic footprint is also expanding. The Tan Suo San Hao recently completed another Arctic mission, with state media saying China is now the only country capable of continuous manned deep-sea dives in dense Arctic ice zones. New icebreakers, research stations and private cruise operations bolster its presence.
Europe fears it is losing ground; a Mercator Institute study warned that “China's footprint in the Arctic and space demands urgent attention,” citing risks to security and access to key minerals and energy. Katja Bego notes Europe’s slow investment has “helped open the door to actors with fewer scruples, such as China.”
Western confidence in its technological lead is starting to waver. Charles Austin Jordan said, “That sentiment is primed to turn very quickly … even moderate progress by China … could quickly ignite severe anxieties.” Chinese experts argue the fears are exaggerated. Shan Guangcun says China is focused on reducing vulnerability after repeated restrictions: “Breaking through in these areas means freeing Beijing from dependence on others in core technologies,” and “Ensuring technological autonomy … has become a cornerstone of national security.”
He attributes Western reactions to shifting power dynamics, ideology and real concerns, saying “Some of the West's anxiety reflects a natural wariness … some stems from ideological bias … some is based on genuine security concerns.” Li Hanming adds the US sees threat partly because “historically they themselves used space technology as a tool of deterrence.”
Trudeau?
Canadian Army Training China To Fight India?
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Canadian soldiers no longer training Chinese troops, defence minister says
Harjit Sajjan Defence Minister, 2020
A report by The Globe and Mail on Thursday cited documents mistakenly released under access to information laws which said Global Affairs Canada pushed back at the decision by Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jonathan Vance last year to cancel the training.
The training was set to see Canadian soldiers train Chinese soldiers in winter activities at CFB Petawawa.
The matter dominated question period in the House of Commons, with Sajjan blaming the former Conservative government for having signed a military cooperation plan in 2013 with Beijing.
“Because of the agreement that they had signed, this is one of the reasons why we actually changed our approach because of the concerns that the member outlined,” Sajjan said after Conservative defence critic James Bezan asked him to explain why Canadian troops would train Chinese soldiers.
“We will always stand up for Canadians who are arbitrarily detained. This is one of the reasons why we actually stopped our training with the Chinese.”
Bezan was previously parliamentary secretary to Rob Nicholson, the former Conservative defence minister who signed that agreement in 2013.
The revelation came as Canadians across the country marked a grim milestone.
Thursday marked two years since Beijing arbitrarily detained Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who have received only limited consular access since they were seized in December 2018.
Beijing has repeatedly linked their arrests with the detention by Canadian authorities several days prior in December 2018 of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in accordance with the longstanding extradition treaty between Canada and the U.S.
American officials have charged Meng and Huawei with dozens of criminal counts related to allegations of skirting sanctions on Iran and stealing corporate secrets.
Kovrig, a Canadian diplomat, was on leave doing research work with the non-profit International Crisis Group as part of a team analyzing Chinese foreign policy.
Brittany Brown, chief of staff for the International Crisis Group, said the team remains “devastated” by his continued detention, adding it casts a discouraging cloud around global relations.
“I thought the worst-case scenario was three months, six months,” she told Global News, noting the group remains concerned that other authoritarian regimes will use the detentions as a model.
“I think we can all imagine those governments are watching it really carefully and they’re seeing that China has pretty much gotten away with holding two Canadians hostage for the last two years with very little impact.”
Charles Burton, a former Canadian diplomat in China and now senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, expressed similar concerns on Thursday.
He said the federal government’s response so far sends a clear signal to China.
“I think that all of these passive non-responses by our government is sending a signal to the Chinese authorities that hostage diplomacy works,” he said.
“And until such time as we make it clear to the Chinese government that they cannot menace and intimidate us through hostage diplomacy, they will persist with this policy of hostage diplomacy.”
Conservative leader Erin O’Toole called on the government to implement Magnitsky sanctions on Chinese officials, freezing their assets and finances here in Canada.
He also called the report of senior officials opposing Vance’s move to cancel winter training “disturbing.”
“China does not act like a partner or a friend,” he said. “Communist China acts against human rights and the rule of law consistently. … The government needs to wake up.”
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