Canada casts doubt on ‘Asian Nato’, citing diverse regional interests in Indo-Pacific

Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair cast doubt on the idea of an “Asian Nato,” saying that any US-led military alliance in the region would look different due to the diverse strategic interests there.

“I think there’s different elements of strategic competition taking place in the Indo-Pacific,” Blair said in Seoul late Wednesday. “It may take a different form than what we see in Nato.”

Blair is visiting Seoul and Tokyo this week, becoming the first Canadian defence minister in more than a decade to travel to South Korea. He highlighted China’s growing assertiveness in the region in what he called “the most rapid military build-up” of any nation in decades to “reshape the international system to suit its own goals”.

Touching also on the US presidential election and Ukraine, Blair said he expected America’s support for Kyiv to continue no matter who will be in the White House next year.

The US and its Asian allies, Japan and South Korea, have been stepping up their cooperation as Washington pushes to clip China’s efforts to increase its military and economic might. Beijing has bristled at the moves, calling them an attempt to sow discord among the Asian neighbours.