On Apr. 28, DM Kishi held a VTC with Minister Sajjan, National Defence of Canada. They exchanged views on bilateral defense cooperation and regional security issues, and affirmed their continued close cooperation to uphold and reinforce the Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
They exchanged views on the East and South China Sea as well and expressed their serious concerns over China’s Coast Guard Law. Both ministers concurred in sending a clear message that a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law is important.
In addition, both ministers reaffirmed their commitment to closely coordinating toward the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of all of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile of all ranges.
(Press Release)
April 28, 2021
Japan Ministry of Defense
Japan-Canada Defense Ministers’ Video Teleconference
On April 28, 2021, Minister KISHI held a video teleconference with Minister of National Defence of Canada, H.E. Harjit Singh Sajjan.
1 The two ministers exchanged views on regional security issues and reaffirmed their continued close cooperation to maintain and promote the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region. Regarding the East China Sea and the South China Sea, they expressed their will to strongly oppose any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by coercion, and any activities that escalate tensions. They also expressed their serious concerns over China’s Coast Guard Law and concurred in sending a clear message that a free and open maritime order based on the rule of law isimportant.
2 The ministers referred to the launches of two ballistic missiles by North Korea on March 25, and strongly condemned them as a threat to the peace and stability of the region as well as a violation of UNSC resolutions, and shared the view that the repeated launches of ballistic missiles by North Korea pose a serious challenge to the international community as a whole. Minister Sajjan announced the renewal of Operation NEON until 2023, Canada’s contribution to the multinational effort to monitor the implementation of UNSC sanctions against North Korea. Minister Kishi expressed that he highly valued Canada’s continued deployment of its assets for monitoring and surveillance activities against illicit maritime activities including North Korea’s illegal ship-to-ship transfers. The ministers reaffirmed their commitment to closely coordinating toward the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of all of North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile of all ranges, including collaboration on responses againstship-to-ship transfers.
3 In addition, the ministers discussed the risks imposed by infectious diseases that could affect peace and security. They exchanged views on reinforcing the rules-based international order, including countering disinformation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also exchanged views on approaches of promoting cooperation in third countries to make them more resilient to the pandemic. The two ministers affirmed they would continue to work together on these approaches.
4 The ministers affirmed they would continue to vigorously promote bilateral defense cooperation and exchanges to uphold and reinforce the Free and Open Indo-Pacific while maintaining close communication between respective defense authorities.
