Commentary
The first news of a reconnaissance balloon from China flying over the mainland United States surprised many. We are not used to seeing such things happen.
It seemed so out of place in our time. It felt like something historical, like the Cold War, or something futuristic, like a science fiction novel.
We have become accustomed to thinking that such things cannot happen. However, here’s the problem. Now it is. Times have changed.
So it wasn’t too much of a shock to learn that a second “unidentified object” appeared over Canada on the afternoon of February 11th.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted, “Order to remove an unidentified object that has violated Canadian airspace. NORAD Command has shot down an object over the Yukon. successfully fired at the object.”
Prime Minister Trudeau then posted: “I spoke with President Biden this afternoon. The Canadian military will retrieve and analyze the remains of the object. He would like to thank NORAD for watching over North America.”
The object was shot down in the central Yukon, some distance from the Canadian-US border.
Defense Minister Anita Anand later told a press conference on February 11 that it was described as a “high-altitude airborne object” and was “identified visually using NORAD fighter jets.” Anand said he did not intend to “speculate about the origin of this object” and said that “analysis of the debris is premature as we are still collecting it.”
But all signs point to this being a repeat of the Chinese spy balloon.
Social media pundits and Gadfrey teased Trudeau’s post because it seemed too presidential. Obviously not.
Canada would not have handled this incident alone, and the shooting down of this object was arguably first given the OK by the U.S. government, before Trudeau gave symbolic approval.
But jokes aside, Canada’s defense capabilities are a serious problem. We are entering a new era marked by geopolitical uncertainty and an increasingly chilling relationship with China, and if all signs indicate otherwise, our defenses will be stronger than they have been in decades. will also be important.
The general public has not spoken enough about this issue. Our politicians and bureaucrats feel no pressure on this file.
Discussions about how long ordeal it has been to replenish our fighter jets have mostly focused on being bureaucratic boondoggles. A decision that puts him a year or two ahead of him after kicking the can is actually a decision that puts our country’s security at risk.
The F-35 procurement process was first announced in 2010, and it wasn’t until late last year that the Pentagon received approval to spend $7 billion on 16 F-35s. This makes him a little over a dozen jets during World War II, more than twice as long as he did. Heaven help us.
The current procurement of Canadian Navy and Coast Guard vessels follows a similar trend. Taken together, the national shipbuilding strategy is the largest expense ever undertaken by the federal government. The general public doesn’t realize it, but politicians don’t seem to be very focused on managing their files responsibly.
All signs point to Asia-Pacific as the place for action in the decades to come. Canadian ships have already engaged in freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait, much to the CCP’s regret. If things break out militarily, experts say that’s where it happens.
There is also a growing need to be able to better patrol the Arctic, which drives some of the current resupply operations.
Canada is ill-equipped to adequately defend its West Coast and Arctic, playing a key role in future challenges. It’s good to think it can be done.
The concept of defense capability and military procurement seems boring to most people. One day, all of a sudden, it’s not because of what’s going on around us.
Views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Epoch Times.